A 


THE 

SECRET  DIRECTORY. 


A  ROMANCE 

OF 

HIDDEN  HISTORY. 


BY 
MADELEIiNE  VINTON  PAHLGREN. 


PHILADELPHIA  : 

H.  L.  KILNER  &  CO., 

PUBLISHERS. 


Copyright,   1896. 

BY  MADELEINE  VINTON  DAHLGREN. 
All  right*  reserved. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


NO.  PAGE 

I.  LETTER   OP    MAZZINI       .  .  .  .  .182 

II.  PICTURE    OF    MAZZINI            .                        .            .  185 

III.  PICTURE    OF    VILLA    SPINOLA,  MARSALA    ROCK  214 

iv.  PICTURE  OF  GARIBALDI'S  VILLA  SPINOLA      .  218 

V.  PICTURE    OF    VICTOR    EMANUEL               .            .  250 

VI.  FLAG    USED   IN    RECRUITING    BRITISH    LEGION  257 

VII.  FROM  ORIGINAL  LETTER   OF  ADMIRAL   NAPIER  260 


(3) 


207227; 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER.  PAGE. 

I.    ADONH1RAM.       A    MARYLAND    MANOR     ...  7 

II.    ELSA,   THE    ZINGARA 30 

III.  MILES    STAND1SH    HYPNOTIZED 57 

IV.  SHIBBOLETH 80 

V.    THE    ROYAL   ARCH 108 

VI.    SEQUENCES    OF    HYPNOTISM 130 

VII.    THE  MONK  AND  THE  MASON.      THE  TWO  PRIN- 
CIPLES         153 

VIII.    THE    SECRET   DIRECTORY 178 

.IX.    THE    ROBBERY    OF    A    KINGDOM 206 

X.    MAZZINI,  VICTOR    EMANUEL,  THE  BRITISH    LE- 
GION     .239 

XI.    ENTANGLEMENTS 272 

XII.   CREEDS  AND  THEIR  OUTCOME.     THE  ULTIMATE  301 

(5) 


THE  SECRET  DIRECTORY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ADONHIKAM.   A  MARYLAND  MANOR. 

FOUR  guests  made  a  small  house-party,  who 
were  invited  to  enjoy  for  a  week  the  hospitali- 
ties of  a  quaint  old  country-seat. 

These  four  charming  people  were  so  dissimilar 
in  their  every  characteristic  as  to  be,  when 
brought  together  under  one  roof,  especially  inter- 
esting as  distinctive  types. 

Could  the  hostess  who  had  made  a  life-study  of 
character  reading  have  had  any  such  thought  in 
view? 

The  long  June  day  was  cloudless  and  serene, 
yet  the  mountain  air  was  so  exhilarating  that  a 
pedestrian  excursion  had  been  chosen  in  prefer- 
ence to  a  drive,  or  even  a  ride.  The  hostess 
however,  was  not  so  energetic  as  her  young 
friends,  and  so  excused  herself. 

(7) 


8  THE   SECRET    DIRECTORY. 

Elsa  Zigi  and  Captain  Adonhiram  led  the  way, 
while  Grace  Bellamy  and  Mr.  Standish  paused  at 
every  moment  to  admire  some  new  glimpse  of  the 
ever-varying  views  of  the  far-famed  Middletown 
valley. 

The  old  national  road  wound  its  serpentine 
way  down  a  rather  precipitous  height,  from 
whence  enchanting  vistas  opened  new  delights. 
Since  that  tranquil  summer  day  this  beautiful 
valley  has  become  classic,  for  the  surging  tides  of 
deadly  conflict  have  rolled  their  crimson  sacrificial 
waves  over  its  grassy  dells  and  crested  slopes. 
And  yet,  now  once  more,  stillness  and  peace 
have  fallen  as  a  protecting  mantle  over  the 
scene. 

Captain  Adonhiram  was  of  stature  far  beyond 
that  of  other  men,  and  his  splendidly  developed 
frame,  muscular,  sinewy,  lithe  and  powerful,  gave 
the  impression  of  a  re-incarnated  Roman  gladi- 
ator, so  said  Mr.  Miles  Standish,  with  a  slight, 
sarcastic  intonation,  as  they  saw  his  great  figure 
sharply  outlined  in  the  clear  atmosphere  of  the 
mountain  top,  striding,  Krakenlike,  onward. 

"  That  is  scarcely  just,  Mr.  Standish,"  said 
Grace  Bellamy.  "  The  superb  poise  of  that  intel- 


ADONHIRAM.   A  MARYLAND  MANOR.     9 

lectual  head  and  the  eagle  glance  of  those  blue- 
gray  eyes  mark  the  man  as  something  higher 
than  a  mere  wrestler  of  the  arena.  I  venture  to 
predict  that  when  that  giant  shall  bestir  himself 
and  put  forth  his  strength  it  will  be  for  power  be- 
yond mere  physical  struggle." 

For  an  instant  Miles  Standish  caught  his  breath 
as  he  looked  at  the  graceful,  intelligent  and  pleas- 
ing girl  who  gave  such  discriminating  yet  enthusi- 
astic praise  of  Adonhiram.  "  Could  she,  too, 
have  been  dominated  by  that  remarkable  man  ?  " 
thought  he. 

It  was  plain  to  see  that  Elsa  Zigi  was  en- 
thralled. Elsa,  the  passionate,  sloe-eyed,  capri- 
cious beauty — it  was  fitting  and  in  the  nature  of 
things. 

But  the  gentle,  gracious  Grace,  why  should  the 
far-stretching  dark  wing  of  the  condor  over- 
shadow her  life  ? 

A  week  under  the  same  roof  and  Miles  Stand- 
ish had  learned  to  know  what  might,  perchance, 
only  have  been  suspected  through  the  whole 
course  of  a  society  season,  that  he  would  most 
particularly  like  to  have  Grace  Bellamy  as  his 
best  friend. 


10  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

Young  hearts,  a  country-house,  and  mountain 
witchery  are  dangerous  concomitants. 

Miles  Standish  had  never  been  taught  self-con- 
trol, for  he  was  the  only,  much-petted  child  of 
wealthy  parents,  and  since  their  death  he  had 
been  quite  his  own  master.  Tims  his  passing 
fancies  made  a  sort  of  erratic  rule  for  him ;  and 
as  these  thoughts  beset  him  he  gazed  inquiringly 
at  Grace,  who  was  too  sensitive  not  to  feel  that 
she  was  misunderstood. 

"  Before  us  is  an  incomparable  view,"  said 
Miles  quietly,  "  and  there  is  a  pleasant  seat  under 
the  leafy  shade  of  this  far-spreading  oak.  Let  us 
rest  here  and  enjoy  the  landscape." 

"  Certainly,"  said  Grace,  with  that  refined  can- 
dor, which  was  one  of  her  chiefest  charms.  "  It 
always  pleases  me  well  to  hear  you  talk,  al- 
though," she  added,  with  a  little  laugh,  "it  is 
said,  if  not  too  trite  to  repeat,  that  conversation 
is  a  lost  art." 

"  That  is  said  of  conversation,  Miss  Bellamy," 
replied  Standish,  "  but  if  I  venture  to  talk  to  you 
about  myself,  for  instance,  could  you  pardon  the 
egotism  ?  " 

"  I  am  all  attention,"  said  the   pretty  listener, 


ADOJS  HIRAM.       A   MARYLAND   MANOR.          11 

and  the  clear  blue  eyes,  Miles  thought,  expressed 
interest. 

"  Pray,  dear  Miss  Bellamy,"  continued  he, 
"  don't  think  me  namby-pamby  when  I  beg  to  as- 
sure you  what  a  great  boon  it  would  be  to  me, 
a  man  quite  alone  in  the  world,  as  I  uni,  if  I  could 
hope  to  be  assisted  by  a  good  and  a  high-minded 
woman.  In  fact,  may  I  call  you  Grace,  and  in 
so  doing  make  the  confession  that  I  am  very, 
very  lonely.  I  am  heart-lonely,  Grace,  and  soul- 
lonely.  I  feel  that  I  need  your  friendship,  your 
dear  companionship,  and  I  may  as  well  make 
an  open  confession  and  add  that  I  need  your 
love." 

While  listening  to  this  somewhat  measured  and 
indefinite  love  avowal,  Grace,  with  a  woman's 
quick  intuition,  felt  that  she  was  much  more  ready 
to  give  Miles  Standish  her  friendship  rather  than 
her  heart,  and  that  actually  it  was  a  friend  that  he 
needed. 

So  she  very  calmly  answered :  "  We  will  call 
each  other  Miles  and  Grace,  and  we  will  be  the 
very  best  friends  possible,  and  you  may  talk  to  me 
about  yourself  whenever  your  moods  tell  you  that 
you  need  my  sympathetic  confidence." 


12  THE   SECRET  DIRECTORY. 

"  Yet,"  said  Miles,  taking  her  hand,  and  in  a 
pleading  tone,  "  nothing  more,  Grace  ?  " 

"  Yes,  and  no,"  said  she.  "  For  the  present  it 
is  enough  for  your  happiness  and  mine.  We  will 
begin  with  a  Platonic  attachment — " 

4i  Well,"  said  Miles  in  a  manly  way,  "  I  deserve 
to  be  on  trial,  Grace,  and  a  probation  will  doubt- 
less be  salutary,  for  I  have  been  a  woefully  selfish 
fellow  all  my  life,  and  you  must  help  me,  dear 
Grace,  to  reach  a  higher  plane." 

There  was  silence  interrupted  by  Miles.  "  Par- 
don me,  Grace,"  he  asked,  "  but  am  I  not  entitled 
to  know  this  much?  Do  you  love  any  other 
man  ?  " 

"  I  have  promised  }7ou  my  confidence,"  was  the 
candid  reply.  "  I  have  given  my  heart  to  no 
man." 

"  Then  for  the  present,"  said  Miles  kissing  her 
hand,  "I  must  be  content."  But  he  could  not 
help  adding,  "  Not  even  Adonhiram,  Grace  ?  " 

Grace  laughed.  "  Adonhiram !  He  is  a  man  to 
wonder  at,  to  admire;  but  to  love, — never.  He 
needs  no  woman's  love,  nor  no  man's  love  either. 
He  needs  but  himself.  He  is  all  sufficient  to  him- 
self. He  is  Adonhiram." 


ADONHIRAM.   A  MARYLAND  MANOR.    13 

"  How  true,  Grace,  how  discriminating,"  said 
Miles  admiringly.  "  This  man  is  indeed  a  study. 
He  is  more  than  that,  he  is  a  mystery.  He  speaks 
all  the  European  languages  with  equal  fluency.  I 
have  been  told  in  Washington  by  diplomats  that 
each  language  he  used  seemed  to  be  his  native 
tongue;  and  he  is  even  familiar  with  the  various 
patois  of  different  countries.  As  a  Harvard  man," 
added  Miles,  "  I  can  testify  to  his  classical  lingual 
acquirements,  for  the  so-called  dead  languages  he 
wields  as  living  weapons  adapted  to  his  use. 
Then  his  large  and  varied  information  is  surpris- 
ing ;  law,  medicine,  the  natural  sciences,  litera- 
ture, he  seems  alike  conversant  with.  We  have 
men  in  Washington  splendidly  equipped  in  their 
specialties,  but  where  will  you  find  a  mind  upon 
which  is  mapped  out,  as  it  were,  the  arcana  of 
knowledge  ? 

"  I  have  heard  it  said  that  his  blond  beauty  is 
that  of  the  Dane,  but  for  this  there  is  no  evi- 
dence." 

"  He  is  cosmopolitan,"  said  Grace.  "  Have  you 
noticed  Miles,  that  he  uses  no  Christian  name, 
but  only  signs  himself  Adonhiram." 


14  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

"  It  is  true,"  said  Miles  ironically,  "  that  he 
does  not  add  '  RexJ  but  leaves  it  to  be  implied." 

"  Such  a  man,"  said  Grace,  "  is  '  Rex  in  esse,' 
and  this  is  what  he  means  to  be,  in  the  sense  of 
being  a  leader.  I  have  never,  Miles,  analyzed  a 
character  with  more  curiosity,  not  even  yours," 
she  added  with  her  delicious  laugh  that  had  both 
sense  and  nonsense  in  it. 

"  And  the  analysis,  Grace  ?  " 

"  The  result  is  antithesis,  Miles.  He  is  safe,  and 
he  is  dangerous ;  he  is  daring  and  he  is  most  secre- 
tive ;  he  has  terrible  passions,  held  in  check  for 
his  own  purposes.  His  brain  rules  his  conscience, 
his  ambition,  his  heart.  There  are  women,  Miles, 
who  have  all  these  elemental  forces,  but  their 
bodies  are  weak,  and  thus  they  lack  motive  power. 
But  a  man  with  a  big  body  and  a  big  brain  can 
drive  ahead."  Saying  which,  made  this  college- 
trained  New  England  girl  sigh. 

"  Grace,"  exclaimed  Miles  enthusiastically, 
"you  ought  to  be  an  out-and-out  Harvard  pro- 
fessor, and  teach  logic,  metaphysics  and  applied 
ethics.  This  man  should  feel  flattered  to  claim 
so  much  of  your  attention.  Did  it  ever  occur  to 
you  that  perhaps  he  was  a  Prince  of  Israel  of  pure 


ADONHIRAM.      A    MARYLAND   MANOR.         15 

descent  ?  His  name  is  Hebrew  and  composite. 
Adon  means  the  Lord,  and  Hiram  the  sovereign 
Master  to  whom  all  owe  homage." 

"  Why  Miles,"  interrupted  Grace,  "  your  re- 
mark throws  a  flood  of  light  upon  the  darkness. 
I  have  it.  He  is  a  Prince  of  Conspirators.  He  is 
a  Grand  Master  of  secret  orders.  We  have  no 
place  for  him,  no  need  of  him  in  America." 

"  You  may  be  right,  brave  orator,"  said  Miles. 
"  The  only  oath,  binding  on  Americans  should  be, 
the  Constitution  ;  and  for  a  lover,  allegiance  to 
one  fair  enslaver." 

And  as  they  rose  to  continue  their  walk,  they 
became  aware  that  Elsa  and  Adonhiram  had  dur- 
ing their  protracted  conversation  disappeared 
from  sight. 

"It  is  strange,"  reflected  Grace,  "  that  human 
interests  always  dominate  all  other  emotions. 
We  have  been  so  occupied  with  each  other  and 
those  other  two,  that  we  have  ignored  the  passing 
hour  as  well  as  the  exquisite  views  around  us." 

Meantime  Adonhiram  had  walked  on  so  swiftly 
that  poor  Elsa  was  quite  breathless  as  she  kept 
pace  with  his  rapid  motion.  She  even  imagined 
at  times  that  she  was  being  wilfully  subjected 


16  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

to  this  sort  of  treatment,  and  the  mere  suggestion 
sent  hot  flushes  of  anger  coursing  through  every 
vein. 

"  He  knows  me  not,"  thought  she.  "  This  ruler 
of  men,  this  Samson,  may  yet  be  shorn  of  his 
proud  strength  by  the  woman  whose  love  he  sets 
aside.  I  love  him  and  love  him  madly,  and  yet, 
fool  that  I  am,  I  know  that  he  cares  not  for  me. 
But  for  all  that  he  must  and  shall  be  shackled 
with  chains  that  will  be  woven  in  a  network  so 
fine  that  he  can  not  see  them,  so  strong  that  he 
can  not  break  them." 

And  thus  thinking  as  she  gazed  at  Adonhiram, 
he,  unoccupied  by  thought  of  her,  seemed  ab- 
sorbed in  the  contemplation  of  the  enchanting 
scenery  around  them. 

"Ah,"  thought  Elsa,  "if  he  would  only  hate  me 
I  could  better  bear  it.  Anything  but  this  indif- 
ference." 

And  so  goaded  by  the  swirl  of  her  passionate 
nature,  she  exclaimed,  "  Captain  Adonhiram  you 
know  much,  and  I  can  divine  that  in  the  secret 
conclave  of  men  you  are  master,  but  he  who 
bends  not  to  woman's  charms,  he  who  seeks  not 
woman's  aid,  must  in  the  end  fail." 


ADONHIRAM.   A  MARYLAND  MANOR.    17 

"  Cassandra  divineth  well,"  said  he  unmoved, 
"  but  she  gives  but  half  the  lesson.  It  is  as  old  as 
the  garden  of  Eden.  Man  on  account  of  woman 
is  driven  from  Paradise,  and  without  her  his 
destiny  is  incomplete.  So  with  her  he  is  lost, 
without  her  he  is  lost." 

Thus  speaking  they  came  to  the  steep  slope 
of  a  shelving  hillside  where  Elsa  paused,  saying, 
"Shall  we  stop  here  and  await  our  friends?  Is 
not  the  spot  well  chosen  ?  "  she  added  in  her  rich 
vibrant  voice,  as  she  placed  her  jewelled  hand 
lightly  on  that  of  Adonhiram  with  a  sort  of  strok- 
ing, mesmeric  caress  from  which  he  at  once  with- 
drew with  a  gesture  of  dissent. 

But  she  seemingly  unaware  of  being  repelled, 
now  clasping  her  hands  as  if  communing  with  the 
scene  before  them,  said,  "How  beautiful!  Below 
this  voiceful  mountain  brook  is  so  musical  and 
most  graceful  as  it  runs  its  zigzag  course  along 
the  grassy  dell,  enriching  to  a  darker  hue  the 
sward  of  its  banks,  then  scarcely  have  we  seen  it 
than  by  the  caprice  of  an  unexpected  turn,  it  is 
lost  to  view." 

How  skilful !  The  slight  magnetic  touch  had 
2 


18  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

failed,  but  the  appeal  to  that  Nature  which  he 
loved  was  responsive. 

He  looked  at  the  fair  speaker  with  a  certain 
approval.  He  would  have  been  more  or  less 
than  man  could  he  have  done  otherwise. 

How  alluring  was  her  pose,  a  slight  yet 
rounded  and  svelte  figure,  a  dark  olive  com- 
plexion that  gave  interchanging  pallor  and  color, 
masses  of  raven-black  hair  whose  plaited  strands 
were  coiffed  low  in  the  neck  so  as  to  show  in  clear 
outline  the  contour  of  a  shapely  head  ;  and  her 
marvelous  eyes  shone  with  a  gleam,  a  depth,  a 
scintillant  motion  that  was  weird  and  almost  pain- 
ful. 

They  were  appellant  and  repellant.  Adon- 
hiram  caught  their  opalescent  sheen  and  for  one 
brief  moment  his  heart  throbs  quickened  and  his 
brain  reeled.  With  a  slight  shudder  he  turned 
quickly  away, — and  was  saved. 

"  It  is  the  dreaded  evil  eye,"  thought  he,  "  fatal 
gift  of  the  beautiful  temptress.  No  Egyptian 
sorcery  can  work  so  baleful  a  spell,"  and  not 
again  did  he  look  at  her,  although  it  required  all 
the  rare  courage  of  his  superb  self-control  to  evade 
those  penetrating,  basilisk  glances. 


ADONHIRAM.   A  MARYLAND  MANOR.    19 

With  secret  and  increasing  rage  Elsa  knew  that 
she  was  not  only  foiled,  but  that  she  was  under- 
stood. But  she  was  an  actress  worthy  of  the 
world  for  a  stage,  and  dissembling  her  bitterness, 
bending  slightly  forward  as  if  enthused  by  the 
surrounding  scene,  she  said  as  she  pointed  out 
new  beauties,  "  Look  at  the  rustic  bridge  under 
whose  faint  shadow  the  brooklet  flashes,  a  mere 
quivering  thread  of  dancing  light.  Ah,  but  one 
brief  span  of  tempest  and  these  now  limpid  waters 
rise  surgeful  into  mountain  torrents." 

"  Thank  Heaven  that  it  is  so,"  said  Adonhiram 
in  the  clear  tenor  of  his  ringing  tones.  "  Such  is 
life,  mild  but  torrential,  its  charms  ever  contrast- 
ing its  sorrows.  Motion  mirrors  the  universe. 
Change  is  its  great  sequence." 

Elsa  had  inherited  a  wild  and  untutored  love  of 
nature,  and  she  felt  the  deeper  meaning  of  this 
man's  utterances. 

"  Your  words,"  she  said,  "  awaken  strange  moods 
within  me.  Pardon  if  I  leave  you  for  a  brief  space 
to  await  the  others  here,  and  seek  alone  the 
deeper  shade  of  the  darker  woods  below  us." 

There  was  a  narrow  path  down  the  declivity, 
doubtless  oft  trodden  by  the  pattering  bare  feet  of 


20  THE    SECRET    DIRECTORY. 

mountain  children  who  attended  the  schoolhouse 
in  this  mountain  dell. 

The  school  was  evidently  over  for  the  day,  as 
the  door  was  closed  and  all  was  still.  The  rudely 
constructed  log  building  was  propped  up  as  it 
were  by  the  supporting  buttress  of  a  big  outside 
chimney  roughly  built  of  stone. 

Adonhiram  saw  Elsa  stop  for  a  moment  on 
reaching  the  cabin  and  seat  herself  on  the  door- 
steps, slightly  bending  her  head  forward  as  if  in 
deep  thought.  She  made  a  picturesque  figure 
there,  placed  in  relief  against  the  dark  background 
of  forest. 

"  That  schoolhouse  is  well  placed,"  thought 
Adonhiram.  "Nothing  in  this  ravine  to  distract 
the  attention  of  the  urchins  who  here  thumb  the 
primer  of  man's  device.  They  can  dig  away  at 
the  root  of  human  acquirements  undisturbed. 
Scarcely  will  there  ever  be  seated  upon  those 
benches  any  tow  headed  boy  with  the  impulse  to 
climb  to  the  topmost  rung  of  the  ladder  whose 
first  step  is  here  planted.  No.  No.  To  every 
herd  there  is  given  but  one  leader." 

As  this  ambitious  man  who  had  stretched  him- 
self at  full  length  on  the  ground  thus  soliloquized, 


ADONHIRAM.   A  MARYLAND  MANOR.    21 

Elsa  swiftly  walked  on  and  disappeared  in  the 
forest  depths  where  with  the  assured  step  of  one 
to  whom  the  landmarks  were  familiar,  she  soon 
reached  a  log  hut  that  leaned  against  the  cleft  of 
an  overshadowing  high  rock. 

Standing  on  tiptoe  she  tapped  thrice  on  the  sill 
of  a  small  window  of  four  panes  of  glass  ;  when 
she  at  once  heard  within,  the  plodding  step  and 
careful  planting  of  the  cane,  upon  which  a  little 
old  woman  leaned  heavily  as  she  lifted  the  latch 
and  cautiously  held  the  door  ajar. 

With  a  quick  spring  Elsa  stood  before  her,  see- 
ing whom,  the  old  crone  uttered  a  cry  of  delight, 
and  bending  over  Elsa's  extended  hand  eagerly 
kissed  the  dainty  fingers  again  and  again,  with  ex- 
clamations of  love  and  respect. 

"  Child  of  my  foster  child,  joy  of  my  fading 
eyes,  Queen  of  the  wandering  tribes,  of  the 
noble  race  of  Duke  Andrew,  love,  obedience, 
homage." 

So  saying  the  centenarian  inclined  her  head 
reverently,  for  she  was  too  stiff  with  age  to 
kneel. 

"  Mother,  give  me  love,"  said  Elsa,  adding 
bitterly,  "  I  need  it,"  and  throwing  her  arms 


22  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

around  Gertrude's  neck  she  tenderly  embraced 
her. 

Amid  the  gray  shadows  of  the  bare  room  the 
withered  gipsy  looked  as  if  Time  had  ceased  to 
take  note  of  her.  She  had  dried  into  that  pe- 
culiar parchment,  mummy-like  look,  that  moun- 
taineers acquire  who  live  in  the  open  air,  battle 
with  the  elements,  and  far  outlive  their  genera- 
tion. 

Her  aspect  was  as  if  the  juices  of  kindly  nature 
had  dried  up  at  their  fountain  source,  and  left  her 
to  eke  out  a  galvanized  life  with  some  undertaker's 
fluid  injected  into  the  distended  swollen  veins  to 
prevent  decomposition. 

Did  indeed  the  sluggish  blood  course  through 
that  frame  ? 

Gertrude  wore  a  blue  stuff  short  gown  with  full 
wide  skirt,  and  a  faded  red  kerchief  folded  across 
her  breast.  Heavy  silver  hoops  hung  in  the 
leathery  thongs  of  ears,  and  around  her  skinny 
neck  was  clasped  an  amulet  necklace  of  carved 
.moonstones  that  gave  out  a  glinting  glamour  as  of 
the  faces  of  the  dead.  These  grim  ornaments 
placed  in  strange  relief  a  withered  face  like  a 
faded  hickory  nut,  lighted  with  glowing  coals  of 


ADONHIRAM.      A   MARYLAND   MANOR.          23 

eyes  sunk  deep  in  their  ashen  sockets,  yet  whose 
pernicious  oblique  glances,  were  full  of  fire. 

How  weird  is  extreme  old  age,  when  the  gates 
of  life  stand  ajar,  and  shrouded  in  sepulchral 
gloom  these  centenarians  feebly  move  among  the 
living,  ever  and  anon  giving  forth  some  momen- 
tary uncanny  flash  of  expiring  life. 

And  yet  in  the  hard  struggle  to  prolong  life 
and  span  the  centuries,  men  and  women  who 
could  strengthen  their  souls  for  an  upward  flight, 
make  of  their  God-given  probationary  time,  a 
senseless,  selfish  record  of  body-worship. 

The  thin  lips  trembled  as  she  crooned,  "And 
now  may  Gertrude  go  over  the  borderland,  this 
once  to  have  seen  her  child  and  her  Queen.  But 
how  is  this  ?  Star  of  our  destinies,  were  you  not 
sent  with  a  fixed  purpose  to  live  among  the  race  of 
the  oppressor,  and  thus  thwart  the  evil  eye.  How 
is  this  that  Gertrude  is  sought  for  in  her  cave?" 

"  Mother,  I  come  to  say  I  love  you,  and  also  to 
seek  your  aid,"  said  Elsa. 

"  I  hold  the  hidden  lore  at  the  beck  and  call  qf 
my  sovereign,"  muttered  Gertrude.  "  Does  she 
seek  like  Saul  of  old  to  raise  the  sheeted  dead  ?  " 

"  My  purpose  is  not  so  terrible,"  gasped  Elsa 


24  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

with  a  shudder.     "  Give  me,  oh  Gertrude,  power 
over  the  heart  and  will  of  man." 

"  Power  over  the  heart  of  man,  Elsa,  comes 
from  above.  We  cannot  reach  so  high.  But 
power  over  the  will  of  man,  yes,  we  have  charms 
which  may  lead  him  to  yield  this  will." 

"  Now  all  praise  to  the  Zingari  lore,"  cried  Elsa. 
"  Tell  me  quickly  the  secret,  for  time  presses. 
Even  now  they  may  be  seeking  me." 

The  old  crone  trembled  violently,  as  with  wail- 
ing voice  and  feeble  rocking  motion  of  her  attenu- 
ated body,  she  lamented,  "And  must  my  Elsa 
meet  her  fate  ?  Must  the  evil  eye  that  Haxa  laid 
upon  her  as  she  was  cradled  in  the  swinging  grape 
vine,  and  rested  on  her  leafy  bed  that  wild  May 
night,  when  the  old  hag  danced  the  Brocken  and 
cast  the  devil's  spell." 

"But,  mother,"  said  Elsa,  interrupting  her — 
and  gently  patting  her  worn  cheeks  with  caress- 
ing touch.  "  Hasten.  My  time  is  up.  Tell  me 
the  secret." 

•  "  Where  are  you  staying,  child  ?  "  said  Gertrude 
with  concealed  cunning,  for  she  hated  to  give  up 
her  lore. 

"At  the  big  stone  house  on  the  top  of  the  hill, 


ADONHIRAM.   A  MARYLAND  MANOR.    25 

a  guest  with  others,  and  only  for  a  few  days,"  said 
Elsa. 

"  With  the  woman  who  as  the  world  goes,  owns 
the  broad  acres  of  the  mountain?"  asked  Ger- 
trude. "  But  what  care  I  one  jot  for  their  say- 
so  ?  "  And  as  the  gipsy  rose  to  her  feet  she  held 
her  shrunken  figure  with  a  certain  dignity  of  bear- 
ing quite  surprising  for  one  so  aged. 

"If  indeed,"  she  continued,  "the  land  as  the 
eye  measures  it  is  hers  by  deed  and  parchment,  it 
is  ours  by  better  right,  Elsa,  by  virtue  of  the  old 
Zingari  title.  We  know  the  secrets  of  its  rocks 
and  caves  and  springs,  and  deep-hidden  veins  of 
richest  ore  and  the  sunken  threads  of  its  water 
courses,  and  its  herbs  for  healing ;  all  these  are 
ours.  Ha,  ha,  whose  deed  covers  the  earth?" 

Elsa  was  afraid  that  extreme  old  age  would, 
amid  all  this  senile  wandering,  deprive  her  of  the 
charm  she  sought,  so  she  again  said,  this  time  with 
a  tone  of  Command,  "Gertrude  keep  me  no  longer 
waiting.  I  must  know,  and  that  at  once — the 
charm." 

Thus  commanded  by  one  to  whom  she  owed 
allegiance,  Gertrude  reluctantly  answered,  "  The 
spell,  my  child,  must  come  from  yourself.  You 


26  THE   SECEET   DIRECTORY. 

must  will  to  enslave  him.  Then  add  to  this 
strong  power  all  the  inward  fire  of  your  eye.  Be 
all  eye.  Put  your  soul  in  this  look.  Hold  firm 
to  this  silent  charm.  Then  bind  his  will  by 
slowly  moving  a  finger  an  inch  above  the  bare 
skin  of  his  left  wrist,  or  between  his  eyes  above 
his  forehead.  While  you  do  this,  say  three  times 
to  yourself  the  secret  word,  Abracadabra  and  then 
force  down  his  mind  to  be  your  slave  in  whatever 
you  bid  him  do.  Show  the  Zingari  skill,  Elsa, 
to  fix  his  eye  firmly,  while  you  make  the  mo- 
tions." 

At  this  moment  as  old  Gertrude  held  her  gaunt 
finger  uplifted,  and  her  hollow  voice  resounded 
through  the  empty  room,  Elsa's  quick  ear  caught 
the  sound  of  her  own  name  reechoing  through 
the  forest  glades.  Placing  a  small  silken  purse 
filled  with  silver  change  in  Gertrude's  torpid 
hand,  she  said  hurriedly,  "  Thanks,  dear  old 
mother.  They  call  me  and  I  must  go  at  once." 

"  Stay,  child,"  cried  the  trembling  crone,  greatly 
excited,  "  I  have  a  sure  charm  to  make  you  un- 
seen by  human  eye." 

"  No  time,  Mother,  not  now.  Work  your 
charms  to  aid  me,"  and  Elsa  fled. 


ADONHIRAM.   A  MARYLAND  MANOR.    27 

"  Woe,  woe,  to  the  race  of  Zingi,"  wailed  Ger- 
trude, whose  eyes  took  on  a  weary,  glazed  look, 
and  her  ashen  lips  grew  rigid.  "  Woe  to  my 
Queen,  for  Haxa's  curse  is  upon  her.  She  is  in 
the  toils,  and  now  I  know  by  this  sign  that  my 
end  draws  near.  Yet  I  would  not  leave  this 
shell,  not  yet.  Eblis,  stand  back ;  one  more 
breath  of  life.  Let  me  see  the  future.  Elsa, 
come  here.  Ah,  Eblis,  no,  that  was  not  in  the 
bond.  Spare  my  Elsa,  demon.  Quick,  the  cave 
where  I  must  die,"  and  so  with  painful  effort  she 
dragged  herself  to  the  rock  fissure  of  the  rugged 
wall  of  stone  that  formed  the  farther  end  of  the 
bleak  room  ;  and  as  she  reached  that  last  bourne, 
her  shrunken  body  fell  under  its  heavy  weight  of 
years,  arid  the  soul  went  forth,  as  she  uttered 
with  a  loud  cry,  "  Spare  her,  take  me  in  her  place, 
Eblis."  She  was  dead. 

In  the  awful  mystery  of  Eternity  did  not  that 
last  unselfish  cry  of  abnegation,  of  vicarious  atone- 
ment, of  self-sacrifice  for  another,  clear  away  the 
vast  network  of  superstition,  ignorance,  race, 
heredity,  and  circumstance,  that  enshrouded  this 
life  from  its  inception  to  its  close  ?  Did  not  her 
spirit  stand  free  from  its  dire  enthrallments?  We 


28  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

know  that  an  all-wise,  an  all-merciful  God  held 
for  her  the  even-handed  scales  of  justice. 

Little  recking  the  near  tragedy  that  was  being 
enacted,  or  mayhap  its  bearing  on  her  own  future, 
Elsa,  swift  of  foot,  hastened  to  meet  those  who 
sought  her. 

Miles  Standish  and  Grace  Bellamy  had  found 
Adonhiram  still  stretched  upon  the  ground.  He 
arose  as  the}r  approached,  remarking  as  he  did  so, 
"  It  is  restful,  this  contact  with  Mother  Earth. 
We  are  born  of  her,  yet  we  are  to  be  her  masters ; 
and  the  nearer  one  is  to  her  bosom,  the  more 
freely  she  gives  to  us  her  secrets." 

"  Where  is  Elsa  ?  "  asked  Grace. 

"  She  walks  in  the  forest  below,"  he  answered. 
"  She  asked  to  be  left  alone.  Not  very  compli- 
mentary, was  it  ?  "  he  added  with  a  smile. 

They  all  laughed  at  this. 

"  But  we  must  find  her,"  said  Grace,  and  so 
saying,  they  all  three  descended  to  the  ravine, 
where  not  meeting  her,  they  called  loudly  in  the 
woods  beyond. 

As  Elsa  met  them,  the  usual  pallor  of  her  olive 
tinted  cheeks  had  given  place  to  a  rich  crimson 
glow,  and  there  was  an  indefinable  constraint  in 


ADONHIRAM.   A  MARYLAND  MANOR.    29 

her  manner,  so  that  no  one  either  questioned  her 
or  rallied  her  upon  her  absence  ;  and  the  little 
party  wended  their 'way  homeward  in  silence. 

Were  they  subdued  without  knowing  it,  by  the 
obscure  influence  of  the  mystery  of  life  and  death 
that  was  being  enacted  at  so  slight  intervening 
space  ? 

But  so  prolonged  had  been  this  summer's  ramble 
that  the  sun  now  cast  lengthened  shadows  athwart 
the  broad  expanse  of  hill  and  dale. 

By  the  time  they  reached  the  mountain  summit, 
the  heavens  above  and  the  valley  below,  clouds 
and  uplifted  cloudland,  were  alike  irradiated  by 
the  glorious  flood  of  glowing  sunset  fires. 


30  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 


CHAPTER  II. 

ELSA.      THE  ZINGARA. 

ON  the  return  of  the  little  party  that  afternoon, 
letters  awaited  them  which  somewhat  changed 
the  plans  of  Grace  Bellamy  and  Captain  Adon- 
hiram. 

The  Captain  in  bidding  his  hostess  good  night, 
and  thanking  her  in  courteous  phrases  for  all  the 
pleasure  her  kind  hospitality  had  given  him,  re- 
gretted that  an  unexpected  engagement  must  cut 
short  so  agreeable  a  visit,  and  compel  him  to  leave 
in  the  morning ;  indeed  it  was  important  that  he 
should  take  the  first  train  the  next  day. 

Grace  Bellamy  had  heard  that  her  mother  was 
not  well,  and  she  asked  Mrs.  Percy  if  it  would  be 
quite  right  to  go  to  Washington  escorted  by  Cap- 
tain Adonhiram,  as  her  mother  would  not  approve 
of  her  traveling  alone.  So  it  was  arranged  that 
Captain  Adonhiram  was  to  be  her  escort  as  Mrs. 
Percy  under  the  circumstances  did  not  disap- 
prove. In  order  to  catch  the  first  train  they 


ELSA.      THE   Z1NGARA.  31 

must  take  an  early  breakfast,  as  it  was  an  hour's 
drive  to  the  station.  It  was  a  very  sensible  rule 
of  this  old  manor,  and  one  whick  proved  alike 
comfortable  to  hostess  and  guest,  that  whenever 
and  at  whatever  time  visitors  found  it  desirable  to 
leave,  they  were  to  be  provided  for  without  inter- 
ruption to  the  general  rules  of  the  house.  So  in 
this  case  an  early  breakfast  was  to  be  given,  and 
no  one  disturbed. 

Miles  Standish  was  not,  as  may  be  imagined, 
pleased  with  this  new  complication.  Captain 
Adonhiram  philosophically  accepted  the  inevit- 
able. Elsa  for  some  unexplained  reason  seemed 
content,  and  Grace  was  really  distressed  about  her 
mother,  and  anxious  to  go  so  as  to  be  with  her. 
She  was  the  only  child  of  a  widow,  and  when  her 
father  died,  who  had  served  his  country  with  dis- 
tinction in  Congress,  leaving  them  free  to  choose 
a  home  that  was  most  agreeable,  they  had  lived 
long  enough  in  Washington  to  understand  that 
this  beautiful  city  was  the  most  desirable  residence 
for  an  American. 

"  How  splendid,"  exclaimed  Adonhiram  as  they 
rapidly  descended  the  mountain  canyon  at  early 
dawn  the  next  morning,  "  the  sun  rising  over  the 


32  THE    SECRET    DIRECTORY. 

Maryland  hills,  beaming  as  a  lover  upon  his  best 
beloved,  blending  earth  and  sky  in  the  rapture  of 
the  new  awakening,  touching  with  roseate  tints 
the  sombre  pine  forests,  receiving  the  grateful  in- 
cense of  the  picturesque  Potomac  as  her  waters 
greet  his  ardent  rays  in  rising  mists." 

"  I  can  sympathize  with  you,  Captain  Adon- 
hiram  in  your  love  of  nature,"  said  Grace,  pleased 
and  surprised  at  his  enthusiasm.  "  You  may 
think  my  candor  unseemly,  but  when  I  feel  that 
my  companion  has  a  real  appreciation  of  a  beauti- 
ful view  like  the  one  before  us,  the  highest  enjoy- 
Tnent  is  silence.  Words  are  so  inadequate,"  and 
her  fine  eyes  expressed  the  sincerity  of  her  soul. 

Adonhiram  smiled  and  assented  in  silence.  He 
felt  no  fear  of  her  ingenuous  regard. 

"  It  is  strange,"  thought  he,  "  the  passing  inter- 
est this  sensible,  unaffected  girl  inspires.  She 
does  not  care  for  me  and  her  frankness  is  engag- 
ing." 

Adonhiram  had  not  learned  that  the  indiffer- 
ence of  woman  always  piques  a  man.  But  he  had 
avoided  women,  and  in  fact  they  made  no  part  of 
a  life  occupied  with  the  projects,  schemes  and  day- 
dreams of  an.  adventurous  career. 


ELSA.      THE   ZINGAKA.  33 

But  to  return  to  the  old  manor  which  was  one 
of  Maryland's  colonial  homes  said  to  have  a  his- 
tory attached  to  it,  and  it  was  e,ven  hinted  at, 
that  it  had  a  bedroom  where  one  was  not  sure  to 
pass  a  restful  or  an  undisturbed  night. 

Elsa  had  asked  Mrs.  Percy  '"  as  a  special  favor  " 
to  allow  her  to  occupy  this  so-called  haunted 
room. 

Mrs.  Percy  replied,  "  You  may,  my  dear  Miss 
Zigi,  find  the  room  a  pleasant  one,  and  you  may  not 
be  comfortable  in  it.  The  apartment  is  in  itself 
very  agreeable  and  habitable,  but  it  has,  like  many 
queer  people,  its  own  idiosyncracies.  There  ex- 
ists, if  I  may  so  express  it,  an  odyllic  atmosphere 
in  the  place,  which  impresses  some  temperaments 
but  does  not  affect  others.  After  all  it  may  be 
simply  a  matter  of  nerve  perception,  but  to  be 
frank  1  would  particularly  advise  you  not  to 
tempt  the  surrounding  influences  whatever  they 
are.  I  fancy  that  one  of  your  imaginative  disposi- 
tion might  receive  some  disagreeable  impression, 
and  that  would  be  painful  to  me  as  your  friend 
and  hostess.  You  may  know  that  this  mountain 
top  is  not  exempt  from  the  thralldom  of  supersti- 
tion, although  it  seems  extraordinary  that  the 
3 


34  THE   SECRET    DIRECTORY. 

imagination  of  men  should  pervert  that  which 
God  has  made  so  beautiful.  Yet  all  over  the 
world  the  most  superb  mountain  scenery  seems  to 
be  weighed  down  by  dismal  stories  of  enchant- 
ments, and  apparitions  that  take  place  in  their 
midst.  This  locality  has  many  such  legends,  that 
have  probably  arisen,  in  part  at  least,  because  for 
a  century  past  it  has  been  a  favorite  and  chosen 
try  sting  place  of  the  various  gipsy  tribes  that  have 
come  over  to  America." 

"  You  must  at  least  concede,  Madarn,"  said 
Elsa  with  an  involuntary  curve  of  the  lip,  which 
did  not  escape  the  notice  of  Mrs.  Percy,  "that 
these  people  show  good  taste  in  the  choice  of 
their  encampment." 

Mrs.  Percy  was  aware  that  there  was  a  mystery 
connected  with  the  history  of  Elsa,  who  had  a 
year  previous  taken  a  well  appointed  house  in 
Washington  with  a  matron  as  chaperon,  of  a  most 
respectable  family.  There  were  rumors  that  this 
beautiful  and  accomplished  girl  had  a  romantic 
history.  Some  said  that  she  was  of  noble  lineage, 
and  it  was  even  hinted  that  she  was  the  child  of 
the  morganatic  marriage  of  a  reigning  Prince. 
Then  again,  others  said  that  she  had  been  stolen 


ELSA.      THE   ZINGARA.  35 

by  gipsies  when  an  infant,  and  after  some  years 
liberated  for  a  large  ransom  by  a  parent  now  de- 
ceased. Gipsies,  however,  had  been  seen  at  her 
house,  ostensibly  for  fortune-telling. 

But  as  after  all  the  only  social  cloud  under 
which  Elsa  labored,  was  the  ignorance  of  society 
as  to  her  parentage  and  early  surroundings,  there 
was  much  in  her  favor  to  counterbalance  this 
misfortune.  She  was  handsome,  of  distinguished 
bearing,  a  most  accomplished  linguist,  a  graceful 
dancer,  vivacious,  and  perfectly  au  fait  as  to  all 
the  convenances. 

Now  Mrs.  Percy  had  an  assured  position  in 
Washington  society,  and  she  had  what  was  more 
rare  than  social  success,  a  kind  heart  and  chari- 
table opinion  of  others.  Perhaps  at  times  she  was 
unduly  influenced  by  her  feelings,  and  not  suffi- 
ciently cautious. 

The  sort  of  half  sneer,  the  cutting  innuendo, 
which  she  had  heard  applied  to  both  Adonhiram 
and  Elsa,  had  decided  her  with  her  usual  gener- 
ous impulses  to  treat  them  both  with  particular 
consideration,  and  she  always  held  an  invitation 
to  her  country-seat  as  the  most  special  compli- 
ment it  was  in  her  power  to  bestow. 


36  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

"  To  invite  one's  friends  to  dine  with  you  in 
town,  is  a  mark  of  respect,"  she  would  say,  "but 
to  ask  them  to  make  one  of  a  family  party  at 
your  country  home  is  the  most  flattering  compli- 
ment one  can  give  :  "  and  this  is  true,  for  the 
rural  home  is  the  home  where  one  lives  a  real  life ; 
but  in  the  city  one  is  transplanted,  not  growing 
into  the  soil  with  deep  roots,  but  rather  adapting 
oneself  to  extraneous  conditions. 

As  to  Captain  Adonhiram,  he  had  appeared  in 
Washington,  it  is  true,  rather  suddenly  ;  but  he 
came  well  introduced,  bringing  some  very  good 
letters  of  introduction  to  various  well-known  peo- 
ple there,  and  one  in  particular  to  Mrs.  Percy 
from  an  English  friend  whom  she  greatly  re- 
spected. These  credentials  were  accepted  and 
his  personal  accomplishments  made  him  a  very 
much  sought  for  addition  to  society.  But  society 
is  vastly  more  lenient  toward  men  than  women. 

In  Washington  any  man  once  accepted  by  the 
coterie  of  fashion 'is  in  great  danger  of  being  quite 
spoiled  by  the  endless  invitations  and  attentions 
he  receives.  If  he  happens  to  be  what  is  called  a 
"  ladies'  man  "  he  is  inevitably  ruined  so  far  as  to 
any  future  career  of  usefulness ;  and  for  any  edu- 


ELSA.      THE   ZINGARA.  37 

cated  American  to  lose  the  opportunity  that  the 
movement  of  the  age  gives  him,  is  to  say  the  least, 
a  great  misfortune. 

Fortunately  for  Adonhiram,  but  unfortunately 
for  the  so-called  elite,  he  was  confessedly  indiffer- 
ent to  women.  He  was  seen  at  the  best  houses, 
and  was  naturally  a  conspicuous  figure  in  a  draw- 
ing-room, but  it  was  observed  that  his  time  was 
given  to  men. 

By  that  spirit  of  contrariety  which  governs 
swelldom,  this  seeming  apathy  to  feminine  attrac- 
tions, made  him  malgre  lui,  an  immense  success. 

Society  girls  were  determined  to  overcome  his 
unconcern ;  and  while  these  capricious  women 
turned  coldly  away  from  the  immaculately  gotten- 
up  Mr.  Nimbleshanks  who  would  have  bartered 
soul  and  body  to  win  their  favor,  they  lavished 
unheeded  attentions  upon  Captain  Adonhiram. 

Mrs.  Percy  was  fastidious  and  conservative,  and 
had  invited  these  two  persons  about  whom  after 
all  she  knew  very  little,  to  her 'country  house  for 
the  reasons  given. 

After  the  conversation  about  the  haunted 
chamber,  Elsa  still  desiring  to  occtip}^  it,  was  duly 
installed,  Grace  venturing  to  peep  in  at  the 


38  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

gloaming  hour  in  hopes,  she  said,  of  seeing  Elsa 
carried  up  the  wide-throated  chimney  on  a  broom 
stick  ;  and  the  assembled  company  each  evening 
demanding  the  recital  of  thrilling  adventures. 

Elsa's  fertility  of  invention  on  these  occasions  was 
deemed  quite  surprising,  as  she  had  never  hesitated 
when  so  called  upon,  to  narrate  some  weird  story  to 
which  even  Adonhiram  had  listened  with  interest. 

He  however  had  the  impression  that  the  fair 
raconteuse  must  at  some  time  have  had  a  close 
view  of  the  wild  and  wandering  life  she  so  accur- 
ately described,  of  the  perilous  adventures  of 
nomads  of  different  countries. 

Yet  all  the  story-telling  skill  of  these  stirring 
recitals  would  have  produced  a  less  thrilling  sen- 
sation than  the  simple  accounts  of  her  nights  in 
this  room  had  she  chosen  to  give  them. 

Her  mystic  Zingari  blood  of  lineal  descent  of 
the  mythical  Duke  Andrew  on  her  mother's  side, 
her  early  training  in  the  traditional  occultism  of 
the  Zingi,  her  own  turbulent,  passionate  nature, 
alike  placed  her  as  one  who  rests  uneasily  on  the 
confines  of  the  undefinable  border  land,  rather 
than  amid  the  actual  world  around  her. 

In  Elsa's  infancy,  a  wise  old  Doctress  of  the 


ELSA.      THE   ZIKGARA.  39 

Zingari  had  with  many  incantations  and  the  ob- 
servance of  their  most  solemn  rites,  given  a  horo- 
scope of  the  babe  that  caused  much  dismay,  being 
received  as  true  by  the  tribe. 

It  was  declared  that  she  had  one  unlucky 
night  fallen  under  the  evil  eye  of  Haxa  who  was 
their  enemy,  and  that  in  the  course  of  their  wan- 
derings a  great  calamity  was  in  store  for  her. 

As  on  account  of  her  lineage  many  hopes 
centred  on  her  future,  the  fates  were  again 
solemnly  consulted  when  she  attained  womanhood, 
and  the  result  was  an  oracular  admonition  which 
had  been  literally  complied  with  by  her  leal  sub- 
jects, although  an  unheard-of  proceeding  among 
the  Zingari. 

The  oracle  commanded  that  Elsa's  identity  must 
for  a  time  be  veiled  in  order  to  elude  the  dis- 
astrous effects  of  the  evil  eye ;  that  she  must  be 
carefully  instructed  as  a  woman  of  high  breeding 
should  be,  and  during  the  terms  of  years  when 
she  was  thought  to  be  in  clanger,  she  was  to  be 
placed  under  the  trammels  of  conventional  life. 

It  was  true  that  some  of  the  old  women  shook 
their  heads,  and  thought  it  the  worst  omen  of 
all,  when  a  Zingara  princess  was  to  be  taught 


40  THE  SECRET  DIRECTORY. 

other  than  the  time -honored  Romany  lore  ;  but 
the  influence  of  old  Gertrude,  foster  mother  to 
their  Queen,  prevailed,  and  Elsa  was  put  in  the 
bondage  of  civilized  customs  and  another  life. 

As  might  have  been  expected,  the  untamed 
instinct  of  her  Zingara  blood  asserted  itself  in  spite 
of  all  culture,  and  until  Elsa  had  lost  her  wayward 
heart  to  Adonhiram  all  unsolicited  by  him,  she 
had  chafed  sorely  under  the  restraints  of  her 
surroundings. 

She  would  have  been  far  happier  leading  the 
old  tribal  life  and  ruling  her  people  now  that 
her  mother,  the  Queen,  was  dead,  according  to 
their  own  customs. 

It  is  scarcely  to  be  wondered  at  then,  if  some 
uncanny  Presence  filled  that  chamber  as  soon  as 
Elsa  occupied  it. 

To  all  things  of  noxious  growth  there  are 
needed  peculiar  conditions  for  the  fungus  develop- 
ment ;  and  why  not  apply  this  principle  to 
potencies  invisible  perhaps,  but  none  the  less  in 
existence,  or  at  least  liable  to  be  called  into  active 
operation  by  certain  agencies. 

Whatever  it  was,  there  was  an  affinit}r  in  her 
nature  that  strongly  developed  the  power  of  the 


ELSA.      THE   ZINGARA.  41 

unseen,  if  spirit  there  was,  imprisoned  in  that 
room.  She  was  en  rapport  with  the  invisible,  and 
actually  revelled  in  the  manifestations  of  an  oc- 
cult agency  that  would  have  terrified  others. 

There  were  the  knocks  clear  and  distinct  and 
these  rappings  repeated  thrice  at  intervals  ;  then 
stifled  sighs  and  hard  breathings  that  fanned  her 
flushed  cheeks  ;  aural  phosphorescence  that  flashed 
in  blue  lights  mid  air ;  and  the  sound  of  filter- 
ing sand  which,  striking  a  large  mirror,  would 
seem  to  break  and  fall  in  drifting  masses. 

Surrounded  by  these  disturbances  her  elfish  na- 
ture was  in  its  element. 

"  I  would  not  have  missed  this  excitement," 
she  said  to  herself,  "for  in  the  dreary  tame  life  I 
am  at  present  forced  to  lead,  it  stirs  my  blood  and 
does  me  good.  And  I  am  well  content  to  be  sure 
of  myself,  and  to  assert  my  vital  force.  I  can  all 
the  more  surely  wield  the  electric  power  Ger- 
trude bade  me  use.  Did  she  not  remember  that 
the  evil  eye  is  my  own  proper  birthright,  if  I 
choose  to  cast  the  spell  ?  "  And  so  each  night  she 
willed  herself  to  sleep,  only  she  was  careful  to 
keep  a  light  burning. 

Still  she  was  in  a  manner  conscious  of  troubled 


42  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

dreams,  and  once  even  she  was  startled  upon  a 
sudden  awakening,  to  feel  an  oppression  on  her 
chest  that  almost  benumbed  her  energies. 

"  Was  this  in  the  vast  steppes  of  Russia,"  she 
thought,  "  I  would  fear  the  murderous  and 
stealthy  vampire  ;  but  not  here,  no,  not  here." 

But  in  the  midst  of  all  these  surroundings,  that 
which  really  absorbed  her  thoughts  was  the  rag- 
ing desire  she  had  t(3  secure  an  influence  over 
Adonhiram.  To  this  end  various  projects  were 
mentally  discussed  and  each  in  turn  abandoned. 
Finally  the  resolution  to  consult  Gertrude  was 
carried  out,  with  what  result  we  have  seen.  She 
was  familiar  with  South  Mountain  forests,  and  she 
knew  that  Gertrude  had  retired  to  the  cave-house 
where  she  rested  secure. 

"  The  fools,"  soliloquized  Elsa,  "  the  cowardly 
idiots  fear  that  den  is  haunted,  and  one  might 
burrow  there  and  be  let  alone  till  doomsday.  And 
Gertrude  is  cunning  and  boasts  of  her  charms  to 
bring  on  spells,  wasting,  bad  luck,  and  falling 
sickness  ;  and  they  deserve  it  all,  the  dolts,  to  let 
one  poor  old  woman  scare  them  so.  Ha,  ha,"  and 
the  echoing  walls  said,  "  Ha,  ha." 

After  Elsa  had  that  interview  with  Gertrude, 


ELSA.      THE   ZINGAEA.  43 

she  formed  a  strange  and  subtle  plan,  and  as  she  was 
puzzled  how  to  bring  it  about,  the  unexpected  de- 
parture of  Grace  and  Adonhiram,  leaving  her  for 
a  day  alone  at  the  Manor  with  Miles  Standish,  as- 
sisted her  to  carry  her  wish  into  execution. 

One  has  only  to  watch  the  currents  and  under- 
currents that  direct  human  actions  and  the  course 
of  affairs  taken  at  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  great 
tide  of  events,  to  find  that  there  are  two  things 
certain,  two  great  factors.  There  is  the  over- 
ruling Providence  of  God  for  good,  but  there  is 
also  permitted  for  those  who  invite  it,  a  very  busy 
devil  who  appears  at  the  needed  moment  to  con- 
summate evil  ends. 

If  one  but  glances  at  the  sickening  details  of 
crimes,  of  robberies,  riots,  murders,  and  all  the 
horrid  catalogue  of  depravity,  it  is  awesome  to 
notice,  how  inevitably  opportunity  aids  the  daring 
and  the  wicked.  Thus  low  intrigue  exists  through 
that  league  with  the  powers  of  darkness  that 
creates  opportunity ;  red  handed  violence  has  as 
its  high  abettor  opportunity  ;  and  thus  also  great 
achievements  of  pith  and  high  purpose  wait  on  op- 
portunity. Surely  there  is  a  God ;  and  there  is  as 
surely  a  personal  devil. 


44  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

In  this  wise,  while  Elsa  was  plotting  how  to 
ensnare  Miles  Standish  that  she  might  use  him 
for  her  purpose,  her  familiar  presented  the  oc- 
casion. 

She  had  despaired  of  gaining  a  magnetic  in- 
fluence over  Adonhiram,  and  understood  that  he 
too  had  the  Oriental  wisdom.  She  had  tried 
mesmeric  passes  over  his  hand  and  been  repulsed  ; 
and  he  had  turned  away  from  her  hypnotic  glances 
and  repelled  her.  This  failure  had  decided  her  to 
try  other  methods  to  acquire  power  over  this  im- 
penetrable man. 

Elsa  had  skilled  detectives  among  her  intriguing 
subjects,  and  she  had  placed  the  most  adroit  to 
watch  over  Adonhiram's  movements.  Jealousy 
had  at  first  prompted  her,  but  it  was  soon  evi- 
dent that  she  had  no  feminine  rival. 

What  then  occupied  the  time  not  given  to  so- 
ciety by  Adonhiram  ? 

It  was  found  that  this  man  was  most"  high  in 
command  of  secret  orders,  was  of  venerated 
position  in  Europe,  and  had  doubtless  come  over 
to  this  country  on  a  tour  of  inspection,  and  to 
unify  and  consolidate  interests. 

If,  as  Kossuth  declared,  there  must  be  a  "  soli- 


ELSA.      THE   ZLNGARA.  45 

darity  of  humanity"  how  much  more  did  the 
menacing  activity  of  the  age  require  a  closer 
solidarity  among  the  oath-bound.  Behold  the 
mission  of  Adonhiram.  Truly  had  the  loyal  heart 
of  Grace  Bellamy  spoken,  when  in  her  clear  per- 
ception of  this  man's  character  she  had  said  to 
Miles  Standish,  "America  has  no  need  of  him." 

Having  found  out  where  there  was  a  lodge  that 
Adonhiram  frequented,  Elsa  conceived  the  bold 
idea  of  hypnotizing  Miles  Standish,  forcing  him 
under  the  irresistible  power  of  her  will  to  attend 
these  secret  conclaves,  and  then  make  him  report 
to  her  their  proceedings. 

Thus  having  acquired  the  oath-bound  secrets, 
and  become  acquainted  with  the  dreaded  mys- 
teries, she  would  threaten  Adonhiram  with  an  ex- 
posure which  would  be  directly  credited  to  him. 

She  fondly  hoped  that  in  order  to  avert  this 
dangerous  scandal,  he  would  be  willing  to  unite 
their  fortunes. 

None  but  the  leader  of  a  predatory  nation  would 
have  dared  this  hazard,  or  hoped  to  escape  with 
immunity  for  herself,  in  the  entanglement  of  such 
a  labyrinthine  maze. 

"But,"  soliloquized  she,   "these   sworn  bands 


46  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

reck  not  that  the  Zingari  fear  nothing.  Have  we 
not  at  our  beck  and  call  a  legion  of  the  fallen  ? 
Do  we  not  also,  as  they  do,  dwell  in  mystery  and 
darkness  ?  Are  not  our  homes  if  need  be,  in 
deeply  riven  caverns  more  sacredly  concealed  than 
their  so-called  mystic  shrines?  These  know  the 
bewilderment  of  words,  for  did  they  not  spring 
into  shape  when  the  tower  of  Babel  fell,  and 
Phaleg,  its  impious  architect,  thought  to  scale  the 
Heavens  another  way.  Thus  he  reared  a  tower 
not  built  with  hands,  but  cemented  by  obscure 
rites." 

Then  rapturously  carried  onward  by  her  heated 
imagination,  she  would  dream  of  success,  of  re- 
uniting all  the  Zingari  tribes  in  some  far-off  isle 
of  the  Eastern  ocean,  where  as  Sovereigns  they 
could  create  an  empire. 

"An  august  throne,"  she  cried,  "and  enthroned 
by  my  side  this  majestic  demigod,  with  absolute 
power  of  life  and  death. 

"  Then  shall  we  restore  the  hieroglyphic  lore  of 
Egypt,  enter  the  forbidden  domain  of  another 
world,  subdue  to  our  bidding  the  invisible  hosts 
of  the  fallen,  learn  the  hidden  laws  that  control 
the  animal  kingdom,  be  like  primal  man  rein- 


ELS  A.      THE   ZINGARA.  47 

stated  as  masters  over  all,  but  not  like  Adam  and 
Eve  were,  subject  to  law. 

"We  will  be  a  law  unto  ourselves,  and  we  shall 
have  wrested  the  kingdom  from  Satan. 

"  To  gain  all  one  must  dare  all. 

"And  having  dared  all,  in  order  that  our 
Elysium  may  be  endless,  why  not  seize  the  ethereal 
fluid,  master  the  principle  of  life,  subdue  the 
motive  power,  that  ether  which  until  now  ever 
eludes  and  deludes,  and  gain  for  ourselves  an  im- 
mortal existence  ?" 

Ah,  crazed  Elsa,  these  were  the  reflex  thoughts 
of  that  fallen  archangel  who  lost  his  seraphic  estate 
through  pride  and  ambition,  who  dragged  a  part 
of  the  angelic  hosts  downward  in  his  fall,  and  who 
will  never  cease  to  entrap  the  unwary  until  the 
end  of  Time.  Ah,  poor  Elsa  ! 

And  do  not  these  raving  aspirations  embody 
the  cravings,  the  license,  the  unbridled  expecta- 
tions of  this  nineteenth  century  ?  Behold  in  our 
very  midst  the  prototypes,  the  cold  assumptions 
of  absolutism,  the  scoffings  of  so-called  science 
against  creative  power;  the  impious  uses  of  pre- 
ternatural forces,  and  the  absence  of  humble  trust 
in  God. 


48  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

But  it  was  after  all  so  slight  a  thing  to  bend 
Miles  Standish  to  her  purpose.  She  measured 
exactly  what  he  was  and  who  he  was.  She  knew 
that  the  very  strength  of  a  New  England  man,  of 
a  Harvard  man  if  you  will  have  the  fruit  of  the 
flower  of  Puritanism  in  its  quintessence,  was  its 
weakness. 

To  explain  the  seeming  antithesis:  He  is  a 
man  trained  to  deify  human  intellect.  He  is 
taught  to  believe  that  under  the  protecting  aegis 
of  Minerva  he  is  safe.  Natural  law  is  the  golden 
calf  of  his  worship.  To  this  test  he  submits  all 
things ;  the  natural,  the  preternatural,  and  the 
supernatural  must  all  be  welded  into  one ;  and  he 
accepts  the  lowest  order  of  the  universe  as  the 
final  limit. 

His  studied  incredulity  having  deprived  him  of 
the  higher  law  as  a  guide  and  sheet  anchor,  he 
easily  falls  into  the  snare  of  his  own  narrow  con- 
clusions. And  if  forsooth,  glimpses  of  that  over- 
ruling higher  law  which  he  rejects  reach  him,  still 
stooping  to  the  contracted  tests  of  natural  law,  he 
is  adrift  and  makes  shipwreck. 

Thus  we  see  to  our  amazement,  the  acceptance 
of  pagan  ideas  that  have  been  weighed  and  found 


ELSA.      THE   ZINGARA.  49 

wanting  through  the  ages.  What  a  curious  pro- 
cession of  shades  comes  up  out  of  this  recurrence 
to  Orientalism.  Theosophy,  science  of  natural 
healing,  mind  reading,  spiritualism  lifted  up  for 
worship.  Dangerous  hypnotic  influences  are  tam- 
pered with,  so  that  the  divine  gift  of  free  will 
may  be  enchained.  Oh,  poverty  of  human  intelli- 
gence !  Why  barter  for  this  mess  of  pottage  the 
sublime  gift  of  faith  in  revelation  ?  When  shall 
the  learned  learn  that  pride  of  intellect  narrows 
the  vision,  and  lucid  humility  alone  dispels  dark- 
ness and  doubt. 

This  gipsy  girl  knew  that  this  educated  man 
through  not  fearing  to  fall,  would  fall. 

Mrs.  Percy  breakfasted  with  her  two  remaining 
guests  who  were  also  to  leave  her  on  the  morrow. 
As  the  understood  custom  of  the  house  was  to 
enjoy  a  home-freedom,  she  excused  herself  after 
this  informal  meal  for  an  hour's  quiet  reading  in 
the  library,  making  the  suggestion  to  her  young 
friends  that  they  should  seek  the  pleasing  calm  of 
a  woodbine  covered  arbor  which  was  placed  on  a 
height  near  the  Manor,  so  as  to  command  an  ex- 
ceptionally fine  view  of  "the  clustered  spires  of 
Middletown." 
4 


50  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

"  Only,"  she  added  with  a  tone  of  warning  in 
her  voice,  "  pray  be  careful  after  you  leave  the 
lawn  and  reach  the  entangling  verdure  of  the  for- 
est, to  look  out  for  snakes." 

"  There  would  seem,"  said  Miles,  "  to  be  now, 
as  in  primal  days,  a  hidden  danger  in  paradisaical 
delights." 

"  It  is  true,"  sighed  Mrs.  Percy.  "  Safety  no- 
where exists;  so  be  warned." 

Was  Mrs.  Percy  prophetic? 

Half  an  hour  later  found  the  two  seated  within 
the  leafy  screen  in  rustic  armchairs,  and  spread 
out  at  their  feet  the  enchanting  view  of  Middle- 
town  valley.  This  vale  of  Rasselas,  enshrined 
by  distant  hills  with  their  harmony  of  noble  out- 
line, shaded  by  the  nearer  effects  of  vivid  color- 
ing, and  yet  again  relieved  by  picturesque  con- 
trasts of  placid  and  restful  repose,  was  most  fair. 

And  for  a  space  of  time  they  enjoyed  in  silence 
this  enchanting  prospect. 

"The  scene  attracts,"  said  Elsa,  "  with  a  mag- 
netism one  feels,  but  can  scarcely  define.  It  is 
allied  doubtless  to  that  subtle  mesmeric  force  of 
which  one  hears  such  surprising  tilings." 

"I  have  no  special  interest  in  those  phases  of 


ELSA.      THE   ZINGARA.  51 

phenomena,"  replied  Miles  carelessly.  "  Like  quack 
medicines  there  is  too  great  a  risk  in  what  is  con- 
cealed." 

"  The  hypnotic  power,"  said  Elsa,  "  is  said  to 
work  wonders,  and  control  both  physical  and 
mental  conditions.  I  suppose  you  are  afraid  of 
it." 

"  Scarcely,"  answered  Miles,  somewhat  nettled 
as  every  man  gets,  where  the  word  fear  comes  in. 
"  Why  should  I  fear,"  he  added,  "  any  philosoph- 
ical investigation  ?  " 

"  Perhaps  not  exactly  as  a  science,"  replied 
Elsa.  "  I  rather  meant  that  you  were  a  coward 
where  practical  tests  would  be  tried." 

"  Confound  the  girl,"  thought  he.  "  What  does 
she  take  me  for  ?  "  and  he  answered,  "  Of  course 
not.  If  there  is  anything  real  in  this  influence,  it 
must  proceed  from  some  use  of  electricity  ;  and  if 
one  chooses  to  try  it,  well,  why  not  ?  " 

"  My  ignorance  is  so  great,"  said  Elsa.  "  You 
must  pardon  me  ;  but  I  thought  for  instance  a  man 
might  refuse  to  give  up  his  will.  Suppose  for  ex- 
ample that  I,  not  knowing  how  to  go  about  it, 
should  try  to  hypnotize  you.  Could  I  do  it  unless 
you  consented  ?  "  and  she  fixed  upon  him  the  full 


52  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

power  of  her  remarkable  eyes  that  shone  and 
sparkled  with  scintillant  light. 

"  I  should  rather  say  not,"  said  he  mockingly. 
"  I  would  like  to  meet  the  person  who  could  mag- 
netize me  without  my  consent,"  and  he  bent  a 
curious  regard  upon  Elsa  at  that  moment. 

Miles  had  really  but  one  image  in  his  heart,  and 
the  thoughtful  honest  blue  eyes  of  Grace  held 
him  captive,  but  as  he  met  the  flashing  gaze  of 
this  siren,  he  felt  strangely  stirred  to  respond  to 
their  magnetic  appeal. 

Elsa  read  his  hesitancy,  in  the  vacillation  of  his 
eye,  when  seizing  his  listless  hand  she  begged  him 
with  irrepressible  ardor  to  satisfy  her  curiosity 
and  give  his  consent. 

Miles,  no  longer  a  free  agent  under  the  fascinat- 
ing power  of  that  intense  look,  seemed  somewhat 
bewildered  and  thrown  off  his  guard ;  and  very 
foolishly  answered  "  Do  as  you  wish." 

Instantly  she  arose  and  with  a  sort  of  trium- 
phant sweep  of  her  arm,  she  drew  her  finger  over 
his  forehead  between  the  eyes,  then  taking  his 
hand  made  the  movements  over  the  wrist,  nor  did 
her  superstition  allow  her  to  forget  the  three 
repetitions  of  the  mysterious  Abracadabra, 


ELSA.      THE  ZINGAEA.  53 

At  the  very  first  pass,  Miles  experienced  such  a 
tingling  unpleasant  sensation  that  his  impulse  was 
to  object  resolutely  and  assert  himself.  But  a 
false  shame  held  his  resolution  in  check,  and  in 
the  instant  he  hesitated,  he  was  lost. 

A  minute  later,  and  the  first  shock  was  suc- 
ceeded by  a  spellbound  lethargy.  His  ideas  be- 
came confused,  and  he  was  painfully  aware  that 
his  own  identity  was  mixed  up  with  that  of  Elsa 
in  a  way  that  deprived  him  of  his  individuality. 
The  terrible  thing,  too,  about  this  peculiar  pain 
was,  that  although  he  feared  the  danger,  he  had 
absolutely  no  power  of  will  to  escape  it. 

Like  an  ensnared  bird  under  the  deadly  glare 
of  the  Coluber  he  was  transfixed.  He  seemed  to 
be  striking  out  into  space  for  the  tangible,  with- 
out any  object  to  hold  on  to.  "Am  I  dying?" 
he  thought.  "  Yet  no,'*  he  whispered,  "  I  am  my- 
self if  I  could  but  escape  that  phosphorescent 
gleam  ;"  to  which  his  will  answered,  "Submit." 

Then  Elsa  spoke,  and  her  cruel,  cold  voice, 
sounded  to  his  dull  ears  as  if  from  some  great 
height,  and  she  loomed  way  above  him  with  a 
pale  aureole  shimmering  around  her  head  ;  and 
her  eyes,  those  awful  eyes,  shone  down  upon  his 


54  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

dimmed  senses  like  frozen,  fixed  stars.  They 
were  burning  cold.  And  as  she  spoke  he  received 
her  words  abjectly  as  commands. 

"  Miles  Standish,"  she  said,  "  you  will  return 
instantly  to  the  house,  and  say  to  Mrs.  Percy  that 
you  are  unexpectedly  called  away.  Go  at  once 
to  Washington.  To-morrow  I  will  meet  you 
there.  Call  upon  me  at  two  o'clock.  Make  no 
other  visits.  Say  not  a  word  of  this.  Otherwise 
and  in  other  things,  you  are  a  free  agent  till  we 
meet.  Go." 

She  knew  that  her  victim  must  remain  hypno- 
tized until  she  reversed  the  magnetic  passes  and 
declared  him  free.  So  they  parted.  Poor  Miles ! 
poor  Miles  ! 

That  evening  as  they  sat  alone,  Mrs.  Percy 
could  not  but  express  her  surprise  and  displeasure, 
at  the  strange  lack  of  courtesy  in  what  she  con- 
sidered was  the  uncalled-for  departure  of  Mr. 
Standish. 

"  Indeed,"  she  added,  "  he  is  the  last  man  of 
my  acquaintance  whom  I  would  expect  could  act 
in  such  an  inexplicable  way,  for  he  was  always  care- 
ful and  even  punctilious  as  to  all  conventional 


ELSA.      THE   ZINGAKA.  55 

points,  in  fact,  I  thought  Mr.  Standish  a  gentle- 
man." 

"  A  man  in  love,  dear  Mrs.  Percy,"  said  Elsa, 
laughing,  "  is  a  man  in  dreamland,  and  no  longer 
a  responsible  agent ;  and  when  Grace  Bellamy  left 
I  fancy  he  also  left  in  spirit;"  and  again  she 
laughed  very  cheerily,  but  in  some  way  Mrs. 
Percy  felt  repelled. 

As  Elsa  was  to  go  at  dawn  the  next  day,  she 
bade  Mrs.  Percy  good  night  at  an  early  hour,  and 
declared  to  her  with  profuse  thanks  that  she 
could  never,  never  forget  old  South  Mountain. 

When  at  last  alone  in  her  room,  with  uncon- 
trollable joy  she  swung  her  arms  aloft  and  swayed 
her  lithe  body  to  and  fro,  with  the  wild  movement 
of  the  fetish  dancers,  and  in  jubilant  mutterings 
she  repeated,  "  Thanks,  Gertrude,  thanks  for  the 
easy  victory  over  the  will  of  man.  It  was  child's 
play.  Avaunt,  old  Haxa.  I  hold  my  destiny  in 
my  own  hands  in  spite  of  your  hellish  charms.  I 
defy  you  and  your  brood." 

So  saying,  as  she  stood  with  menacing  gesture 
and  dishevelled  hair  before  a  swinging  cheval- 
glass,  her  attention  was  arrested  by  a  strange  film 
that  slowly  gathered  over  the  surface  of  the  mir- 


56  THE    SECRET    DIRECTORY. 

ror,  when  presently  she  saw  distinctly  outlined  in 
its  dim  depths  the  aural  form  of  Gertrude.  It 
bent  toward  her  with  a  nod  of  assent,  then  with 
a  piteous  wail  dissolved  into  the  ambient  air. 

Elsa's  face  blanched;  her  trembling  limbs  re 
fused  to  support  her,  and  she  sank  to  the  floor 
sobbing,  "  Now  I  know  that  Gertrude  is  dead." 

Was  this  an  apparition,  or  an  exaltation  of  an 
unduly  heated  imagination  ? 


MILES   STANDISH    HYPNOTIZED.  57 


CHAPTER  III. 

MILES   STANDISH    HYPNOTIZED. 

E  left  Miles  Standish  under  the  very  depress- 
ing influence  of  a  new  phase  of  cerebration,  of 
which  he  was  at  the  same  time  conscious  and  un- 
conscious ;  that  is,  that  the  extent  of  hypnotic 
power  to  which  he  was  subjected  did  not  disturb 
other  mental  processes,  except  those  impelled  by 
positively  imposed  conditions. 

Until  now,  whatever  may  have  been  his  opin- 
ions, or  their  bearing  on  his  actions,  he  had  al- 
ways been  free  to  shape  his  conduct  according  to 
his  own  judgment.  By  inheritance,  early  train- 
ing and  education,  he  was  the  logical  sequence  of 
a  century  of  assertive  force  and  of  vigorous  pro- 
test. His  parents  came  of  the  staunchest  Puritan- 
ism of  New  England.  His  mother  proudly  re- 
ferred to  the  first  record  of  her  race  in  America, 
as  of  one  "  John  Winston,  of  Lynn,  Gentleman," 
of  a  Huguenot  family,  who  came  over  in  1648 ;  but 


58  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

the  claim  of  his  father  bore  the  patent  of  May- 
flower ancestry,  and  lie  loved  to  call  his  son  Miles 
Standish  the  ninth. 

One  would  suppose  that  without  titular  distinc 
tions  or  a  law  of  primogeniture,  it  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  plant  a  family  tree  with  deep  roots  in  re- 
publican soil ;  but  such  is  not  the  case.  It  would 
rather  seem  that  the  highly  oxygenated  air  of 
America  is  favorable  to  the  spreading  out  of  this 
particular  tree  to  extraordinary  dimensions,  the 
prolific  roots  branching  in  the  circumambient. 

Yet  the  men  of  the  house  of  Standish,  like  in- 
numerable other  scions  of  countless  other  old 
houses,  had  long  ceased  to  hold  to  their  tradi- 
tions ;  and  the  bigotries  of  their  forebears  had 
crumbled  into  dust  with  their  skeleton  frames. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  out  of  the  most  rigid  intoler- 
ance grew  the  worship  of  individualism. 

The  new  evangel  proclaimed  absolute  liberty  of 
thought,  and  entire  freedom  from  all  trammelling 
prejudice,  and  the  rejection  of  the  restraints  of  re- 
ligious creeds.  The  dictum  of  no  man  or  bodies 
of  men  was  to  be  received  unchallenged,  because 
it  emasculates  the  intellect  to  be  subservient. 
The  revolt  against  Puritanism  is  typified  by  Inger- 


MILES   STAND1SH   HYPNOTIZED.  59 

soil,  whose  Salem  ancestors  were  of  the  strictest 
witch-ridden  sect. 

Thus  the  denial  of  supernaturalism  brings  about 
the  deification  of  private  judgment. 

Miles  lisped  no  prayers  at  the  knee  of  his  intel- 
ligent, wide-awake  mother,  who  held  so-called  "ad- 
vanced" ideas;  but  he  was  taught  from  infancy 
by  her,  to  think  for  himself,  and  try  to  be  true  to 
his  own  convictions. 

He  was  of  Plato  and  Socrates,  but  not  of  the 
supernatural  grace  of  Christ. 

As  a  child  he  was  a  lover  of  books,  but  was  not 
dictated  to  in  the  choice  of  that  which  he  read, 
although  his  mother  did  quietly  put  in  his  way 
her  favorite  authors,  thus  unwittingly  violating 
her  own  rule  of  keeping  the  mind  of  her  son  free 
from  bias. 

As  a  result  of  this  mistaken  course,  Miles  who 
was  a  student,  grew  up  to  be  a  thinker  without  a 
guide  ;  a  mariner  in  life's  ocean  without  chart  or 
compass  ;  an  original-minded  man,  perchance,  who 
wished  indeed  to  become  a  thought -leader,  without 
himself  knowing  whither  the  mighty  trend  of 
affairs  was  directed. 

It  was  Phiethon  driving  the  chariot  of  the  Sun. 


60  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

Now,  like  Phsethon,  alas,  he  had  fallen  into  abysmal 
depths. 

Viewing  Miles  Standish  as  he  had  been,  and 
Miles  Standish  as  he  now  found  himself,  was  most 
lamentable.  His  boast  had  been  that  he  was  free, 
and  he  was  now  in  fetters.  His  special  pride  had 
been  self-assertion  ;  and  he  was  now  by  an  act  of 
his  own  free  will  held  in  abject,  unreasoning,  un- 
questioning compliance  to  the  will  of  another. 

When  in  forced  obedience  to  the  voice  that  he 
had  chosen  to  obey,  Miles  Standish  turned  away 
from  that  fateful  South  Mountain  arbor,  with 
slow  and  toilsome  steps,  he  felt  incapable  of  self- 
control  ;  and  tumultuous  emotions  that  tossed  him 
to  and  fro,  invaded  the  hitherto  calm  of  his  inner 
consciousness. 

Had  he  the  power  to  analyze  his  sensations  ? 
His  moral  perceptions  were  in  a  state  of  exalta- 
tion which  made  his  protest  against  himself  all 
the  more  painful.  In  bitter  soliloquy  lie  asked 
himself,  "Have  I  a  double  consciousness?  Am  I 
divided  against  myself?  Bodily  I  feel  as  if  I 
were  floating  in  space,  and  these  cold  hands  over 
which  accursed  passes  were  made,  seem  as  if 
manacled  in  aural  light,  and  chained  by  electric 


MILES   STANDISH   HYPNOTIZED.  61 

force  to  do  the  bidding  of  her  malefic,  adamantine 
will.  And  back  of  this  divided  dual  self,  looms 
up  a  third  consciousness,  my  accusing  soul. 

"  Oh,  my  soul,  shall  I  implore  that  God  whom 
until  now  I  have  ignored,  to  spare  from  the  rav- 
ages of  mesmeric  power  that  immortal  principle 
of  my  being  ?  Never  before,  oh  God,  have  I  so 
earnestly  desired  to  guard  the  sacredness  of  my 
will." 

What  a  distressing  night  of  strange  and  sad 
bewilderment !  And  on  the  morrow  at  two  o'clock 
he  knew  he  must  once  again  be  at  the  beck  and 
call  of  his  tormentor. 

"  Oh,  my  God,"  he  groaned,  "  in  pity  have 
mercy  and  save  me  from  myself." 

Thus  at  last  in  his  awful  dereliction  in  spite  of 
all  the  axioms  of  philosophy,  his  hitherto  dormant 
soul  strove  to  rise  to  its  Creator;  for  with  free- 
will surrendered,  stripped  by  a  suicidal  act  of  this 
Godlike  gift,  he  knew  his  own  powerlessness. 

And  yet,  how  lightly  are  the  evils  attendant 
upon  a  yielding  up  of  one's  will  considered.  It  is 
of  frequent  occurrence  for  an  audience  to  watch 
with  morbid  curiosity,  the  vapid  humiliations  to 
which  some  selected  unfortunate  is  subjected, 


62  THE   SECRET    DIRECTORY. 

after  he  has  relinquished  his  power  of  self  posses- 
sion, and  in  place  of  such  control,  the  mesmeric 
or  hypnotic  force  of  another  will  is  displayed.  It 
does  not  seem  to  be  understood  as  a  degradation 
to  be  stripped  of  the  highest  attribute  of  one's 
being.  And  why  is  so  painful  an  exhibition  of 
impotency  tolerated  ?  Surely  even  from  a  scien- 
tific standpoint  the  dangers  outweigh  the  benefits 
hoped  for.  Have  we  not  already  an  evidence  of 
this  in  the  annals  of  crime  ? 

The  evening  of  Miles  Standish's  arrival  in 
Washington,  he  was  too  dejected  and  perturbed 
to  seek  Grace  Bellamy.  He  longed  to  meet  the 
dear  girl,  and  lie  felt  that  he  must  derive  conso- 
lation in  presence  of  her  clear  intelligence ;  yet 
he  recoiled  at  the  idea  of  meeting  her  in  his  pres- 
ent helplessness,  and  he  asked  himself  if  it  were 
possible  in  the  midst  of  such  complications,  to 
bear  the  calm  and  penetrating  glances  of  those 
soulful  eyes? 

During  that  night  his  sleep  was  filled  with  the 
disturbing  potencies  of  eyes;  the  blue  orbs  of 
Grace  looked  upon  him  upbraiding  him,  but  domi- 
nating their  influence,  was  the  all-pervading  sheen 
of  that  basilisk  gaze  to  which  he  ever  seemed  to 


MILES   STANDISIt   HYt»NOTl2Et>.  63 

succumb.  At  the  moment  that  he  was  falling 
into  cavernous  space,  hurled  downward  by  flaming 
lobes  of  odylic  light  darting  from  Elsa's  eyes,  he 
would  once  more  be  sustained  by  the  lambent 
flame  and  starry  depths,  of  the  heaven-sent  eyes 
of  Grace. 

And  thus  he  awoke  unrefreshed,  having  been 
agitated  by  the  contending  forces  within  him  in 
sleep. 

With  the  uprising  day,  Miles  Standish  shook 
off  the  nightmare  of  darkness,  and  the  electric 
sunbeams  gave  him  something  of  the  vitality  he 
required.  He  gained  the  needed  courage  to  de- 
cide to  seek  Grace,  and  confide  to  her  his  vast 
trouble,  to  advise  with  her  ;  and  though  shrinking 
at  the  thought  of  her  contemptuous  estimation  of 
his  vacillation,  to  beg  her  to  assist  him  to  throw 
off  this  dangerous  and  malign  influence,  that  had 
been  cast  over  him  owing  to  his  own  heedless- 
ness. 

Fearing  that  if  he  made  a  haphazard  call  he 
might  fail  to  see  her,  he  wrote  and  dispatched  a 
note  at  an  early  hour,  begging  an  interview  at 
such  time  as  would  best  suit  her  convenience,  not 
forgetting  to  inquire  as  to  the  state  of  her  mother's 


64  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

health,  and  he  instructed  his  messenger  to  ask  if 
there  was  an  answer. 

Yes,  there  was  a  reply  ;  not  exactly  the  dainty 
perfumed  note  a  woman  of  fashion  might  send, 
but  one  written  in  legible  well-formed  characters, 
enclosed  in  a  substantial  square  envelope,  and  it 
said : 

"DEAR  MR.  STANDISH  : 

"  Thanks  for  your  kind  en- 
quiries. Dear  mother  is  very  ailing,  and  the  doc- 
tor advises  that  we  leave  town  at  once.  I  am 
very  busy  preparing  for  our  hurried  departure,  as 
we  wish  to  take  an  afternoon  train.  I  shall  be 
happy  to  see  you  at  two  o'clock,  which  is  the  only 
hour  I  can  well  command.  Meantime 

"  I  am  very  sincerely  yours, 

"  GRACE  BELLAMY." 

The  pleasurable  anticipation  of  the  near  meet- 
ing drove  away  all  disquiet  for  the  moment,  and  the 
morning  hours  went  lightly  by,  Miles  Stand ish 
only  listening  to  the  promptings  of  the  heart,  a 
lover's  heart  filled  with  but  one  image  ;  and  tlie 
functions  of  memory  were  so  impaired,  that  he 
even  forgot  why  he  had  particularly  needed  to 
seek  Grace. 


MILES   STANDISH   HYPNOTIZED.  65 

He  began  too,  mentally  to  make  plans  for  the 
summer,  depending  on  the  movements  of  the 
woman  who  was  so  dear  to  him,  and  quite  ready 
to  follow  her  so  soon  as  he  could  know  where 
she  was  going.  Strange  to  say  his  .mind  sym- 
pathized and  felt  unclouded,  for  the  happy 
thoughts  that  enlivened  his  imagination  chased 
away  previous  gloom.  In  fact  under  the  magic 
hypnotism  of  love,  he  quite  forgot  that  he  was  no 
longer  his  own  master. 

Thus,  as  the  fated  hour  of  two  drew  near,  and 
Miles  Standish  was  about  to  meet  his  engagement, 
he  was  suddenly  overwhelmed,  as  a  note  delicately 
inscribed  and  perfumed,  was  handed  to  him. 

As  he  received  the  unwelcome  missive,  it 
brought  with  it  the  terrible  realization  of  his 
slavery,  and  the  painful  recollection  that  at  two 
o'clock  he  was  compelled  to  meet  his  fate. 

The  contents  were  already  divined,  and  the 
unfortunate  man  scarcely  needed  to  open  the  en- 
velope and  read : 

"  Be  prompt  to  meet  your  obligation  at  two 
precisely,  as  I  shall  then  expect  you,  and  brook  no 
delay.  ELSA." 

5 


66  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

And  now  so  strong  was  the  effect  of  the  im- 
posed cerebral  condition,  and  so  earnest  the  dis- 
sent of  his  intelligence  against  the  tyranny  of  this 
dominating  force,  that  a  sort  of  extasis  was  pro- 
duced, and  Miles  Standish  experienced  a  phenom- 
enon that  is  said  to  be  peculiarly  incidental  to 
the  dying,  and  his  mind  in  its  absorption  seemed 
to  be  raised  from  his  body,  and  he  beheld  himself 
double. 

The  superior  nature  led  by  the  alarmed  soul  be- 
came spontaneously  clairvoyant,  but  it  found  it- 
self powerless  to  offer  the  necessary  resistance,  in- 
asmuch as  all  the  organs  formed  for  the  subtle 
expression  of  the  internal  life  of  the  spirit,  all  the 
senses  that  gave  the  only  external  communication 
through  which  the  inner  being  could  act,  were 
under  the  absolute  rule  of  the  will;  and  that  will, 
alas,  he  had  given  up  to  the  hypnotic  power  of 
another  will. 

The  supremacy  of  free  will  controls  the  senses, 
the  heart,  and  the  soul  of  man,  and  woe  betide  the 
hour  when  this  highest  prerogative  is  violated. 
Then  indeed  the  citadel  falls,  and  the  enemy  en- 
ters in.  Satan  knows  this.  He  knew  it  when  he 
thereby  compassed  the  primal  fall. 


MILES  STANDISH    HYPNOTIZED.  67 

Doubtless  ill  the  interminable  history  of  crime, 
the  initial  point  can  in  every  instance  be  found, 
where  the  will  yielded  to  some  outward  sugges- 
tiveness  of  evil. 

The  scriptural  cases  of  possession  stand  upon 
the  record  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  who 
shall  deny  that  they  have  ceased  to  exist  ?  The 
will  is  dethroned,  and  devils  enter  in  and  take 
possession.  Possession  of  what?  Of  the  will  of 
man  ;  and  what  occurs  ?  chicanery,  robbery,  lust, 
rapine,  murder.  And  who  are  the  world's  lead- 
ers ?  The  men  of  iron  will.  They  magnetize  the 
natious  and  own  the  earth. 

Thus  with  anguish  such  as  only  the  lost  soul 
may  measure,  and  in  the  very  dereliction  of  deso- 
lation did  this  miserable  man  mechanically  wend 
his  way  to  meet  the  tyrant  power  he  had  so  heed- 
lessly accepted. 

He  now  comprehended  that  during  life  his  soul 
was  twofold  in  action ;  one  connected  with  the 
body  that  was  being  dragged  along  he  knew  not 
whither,  deprived  of  its  Godlike  motor,  and  the 
other  function  separate  from  everything  corpo- 
real. 

"  Oh,"   he  groaned,  "  could  I  but  be  released 


68  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

from  this  damnable  prison,  I  would  hasten  to  pro- 
claim to  the  world  the  hideous  dangers  that  do 
environ  the  heedless  who  submit  to  the  mesmeric 
and  hypnotic  influence.  Through  its  accursed 
power  the  Faquirs  of  India  allow  themselves  in 
the  trance  state  thus  produced,  to  descend  into 
living  tombs.  And  this  with  them  bears  the  mis- 
nomer of  religious  fervor." 

Still  revolving  these  desperate  thoughts  in  his 
heated  imagination,  he  found  himself  in  Elsa's 
presence. 

The  Zingari  race  have  an  inherent  love  of 
dramatic  effect,  and  Elsa  had  arrayed  herself  in 
some  filmy  tissue  of  India ;  fold  upon  fold  of  web- 
like  softness,  encompassing  her  svelte  and  grace- 
ful figure,  clasped  with  a  scarlet  cincture,  golden 
fringed  around  her  waist.  A  thread  of  gold,  cres- 
cent shaped,  confined  the  raven  luxuriance  of 
her  braided  tresses,  giving  in  its  mystic  shape,  a 
strange  Pythian  suggestiveness. 

The  open  windows  of  the  large  salon  were 
darkened  by  closed  Venetian  shutters,  and  the 
rather  dim  uncertain  light,  was  a  welcome  relief 
from  the  broad  glare  of  the  hot  sun  of  June. 

The  deadly  pallor  of  Miles  Standish  and  the 


MILES   STANDISH   HYPNOTIZED.  69 

change  wrought  by  twenty-four  hours  of  mental 
agony  was  an  evident  surprise  to  Elsa,  who  had  at 
first  advanced  with  imperious  mien  and  fixed  gaze 
to  meet  her  victim. 

She  was  quite  unprepared  to  find  so  spiritual- 
ized an  expression,  with  features  sharply  drawn 
and  the  introverted  look  that  had  taken  the  place 
of  the  whilom  careless  nonchalance. 

His  countenance  was  more  refined,  and  he  was 
so  interesting  in  this  new  phase  to  Elsa,  that  for 
a  brief  moment  her  grim  designs  upon  the  integ- 
rity of  his  character,  faded  or  rather  mellowed, 
into  a  personal  regard  for  the  man.  She  involun- 
tarily asked  herself  why  a  senseless  passion  for 
Adonhiram  who  avoided  her,  should  make  her  so 
cruel  to  this  charming  boy  ? 

The  momentary  weakening  of  her  own  will,  as 
exercised  over  him,  gave  an  instantaneous  reflex 
power  to  his  will,  and  he  felt  a  thrill  pervade  his 
frame  as  if  his  confining  deadening  bonds  were 
being  loosened,  and  this  sensation  imparted  a  sym- 
pathetic upspringing  movement  to  his  soul. 
Under  the  influence  of  this  renewed  vital  force, 
he  gained  the  courage  of  remonstrance ;  and 
kneeling  before  her  as  a  captive  in  chains,  he  im 


70  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

plored  her  to  be  merciful  and  restore  him  to  him- 
self. 

As  she  passively  listened  to  the  eloquent 
appeal,  Miles  was  conscious  of  some  influx  of 
his  own  will  power,  and  he  redoubled  his  en- 
treaties. 

"  I  beg  you,  as  you  yourself  may  hope  for  mercy 
hereafter,"  he  urged,  "  be  generous  and  make  the 
reverse  passes  and  set  me  free.  Give  me  back  to 
myself  that  I  ma}r  once  more  become  my  own 
master.  Even  at  this  very  moment  I  have  an  un- 
fulfilled engagement  with  Miss  Bellamy,  which 
these  cruel  bonds  in  which  you  hold  me,  force  me 
to  break  despite  my  own  inclinations." 

The  appeal  was  most  unfortunate,  for  it  in- 
furiated this  capricious  beauty. 

"  Restore  this  slave  his  freedom,  forsooth,'' 
thought  she,  "  and  to  what  end  ?  That  he  may 
subject  himself  to  the  wiles  of  another  woman, 
and,  in  order  that  two  inane  lovers  may  act  out 
their  little  life's  drama,  I  am  to  lose  the  great  re- 
sults I  have  in  view.  A  thousand  times  no. 
What  care  I  for  him  or  for  her,  or  for  the  vandal 
race  of  Saxons  ?  Did  we  not  wander  over  the 
flower-laden  plains  of  Persia  speaking  our  ancient 


MILES   STAND1SH    HYPNOTIZED.  71 

Romany  chiv  before  they  were  ?  No,  our  arts 
shall  make  them  do  our  bidding." 

And  in  this  malevolent  mood  she  cast  upon 
Miles  the  penetrating  and  pitiless  look  of  her  evil 
eye,  repeating  thrice  slowly  in  inaudible  tone  the 
mystic  Abracadabra,  in  which  she  had  faith,  and 
pinning  him  down  with  relentless  determination, 
to  be  her  slave. 

And  the  hapless  victim  became  once  more  a 
pliant  agent  in  her  hands. 

He  sighed,  there  was  a  quivering  of  the  eyelids, 
and  with  drooping  head,  partially  closed  eyes,  con- 
tracted facial  muscles,  and  lips  parted,  he  stood 
bent  before  her,  the  passive  subject  of  her  will. 

"  I  must  now,"  she  thought,  "  impose  my  sug- 
gestions fully  upon  him,  while  his  mentality  is  de- 
pressed. Miles  Standish,"  she  said,  "  hold  up 
your  head,  and  look  well  into  my  eyes  as  I  speak, 
that  their  luminous  emanations  may  do  their  work. 
You  wish  your  liberty.  It  is  natural.  When  you 
shall  have  well  met  the  conditions,  and  performed 
the  task  T  shall  assign  to  you,  I  will  restore  to  you 
that  which  you  so  lightly  and  recklessly  gave 
me  through  an  overweening  confidence  in  your- 
self. 


72  THE   SECRET    DIRECTORY. 

"  Be  true  to  me  and  to  my  wishes,  and  in  the 
name  of  Samiel,  I  will  be  true  to  my  promise  to 
you.  Listen.  I  must  gain  a  power  over  Adon- 
hiram  in  order  to  obtain  certain  ends. 

"  But  that  is  nothing  to  you,  except  that  accord- 
ing to  the  measure  of  your  faithful  usefulness,  are 
you  to  expect  final  freedom  at  my  hands.  I  will 
point  out  to  you  the  means  of  accomplishment. 
Are  you  a  Freemason  ?  " 

Miles  Standish  trembled  as  if  in  palsy.  His  will 
was  in  abeyance,  but  clouded  as  was  his  mentality, 
his  intellect  began  to  measure  the  precipice  upon 
whose  verge  he  stood. 

He  strove  to  answer  evasively  as  one  who  dares 
not  to  conceal  facts,  yet  who  shrinks  to  yield  to 
the  torturing  inquisitorial  demand. 

"  I  am,"  said  he  in  a  low  voice,  "  a  Phi  Beta 
Kappa  man." 

She  nodded  assent. 

"  There  is  amongst  us  no  longer  an  injunction 
of  secrecy.  This  society  is  built  upon  philosophy. 
Jefferson,  it  is  said,  approved  of  us,  but  as  far 
back  as  the  time  of  Hancock  and  the  elder 
Adams,  when  we  were  oath-bound,  we  were  warned 
by  these  patriots  against  secret  societies.  We 


MILES   STAND1SH   HYPNOTIZED.  78 

have  our  signs,  grips,  passwords,  and  jewel.  The 
meaning  of  our  mysteries  is  that  we  are  to  find 
our  rule  of  life  in  philosophy,  not  religion.  We 
do  not  say  of  Christ  as  brutally  as  did  Voltaire, 
'  Ecrasez  Vinfame  ' ;  but  infidelity  is  the  sequence 
of  our  doctrines.  I  speak  openly  inasmuch  as  you 
force  me." 

"  It  is  passing  well,"  said  Elsa,  "  but  not  what 
I  asked  you.  Let  me  repeat.  Are  you  a  Free- 
mason ?  No  evasion  this  time." 

Miles  Standish  turned  deadly  pale ;  but  he  was 
chained  with  the  lightning  rivets  of  an  electric 
force  that  transcended  oath  bound  limits. 

"  Yes,"  he  said.  There  was  a  gurgling  sound, 
a  spasmodic  contraction  of  the  throat. 

"  It  is  well,  and  to  the  point,"  said  Elsa.  "  I 
have  now  an  immediate  engagement,  and  can  hear 
no  more  at  present.  You  will  return  at  eight  this 
evening,  and  the  post  prandial  entertainment  will 
be  delectable.  Meantime,  you  are  bound  to  me. 
See  no  one,  until  you  return,"  and  she  dismissed 
her  captive  with  a  mocking  laugh. 

"  La  pente  gliss'ee  "  of  sin  is  a  rapid  one.  The 
first  intention  of  Elsa  had  been  to  gain  the  heart 
of  Adonhiram.  In  order  to  acquire  the  desired 


74  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

ascendency,  she  had  no  other  thought  than  to  se- 
lect the  most  fitting  instrument  to  work  for  her. 
She  decided,  as  advised  by  Gertrude,  to  use  hyp- 
notism for  this  purpose.  She  had  no  special  ill- 
will  against  the  man  she  had  chosen  as  best 
suited.  In  fact,  it  was  rather  a  matter  of  conven- 
ience. They  were  thrown  together  at  the  Manor 
and  left  there  alone.  The  movements  of  Adon- 
hiram  being  in  an  eccentric  orbit,  time  was  press- 
ing. But  insensibly  there  sprang  up  out  of  her 
wrongdoing  against  Miles  Standish,  a  sentiment 
of  malice  in  his  regard.  She  could  not  endure 
that  he  should  rejoice  as  the  accepted  lover  of 
Grace  Bellamy,  or  that  she  should  enjoy  a  happi- 
ness denied  to  her. 

When,  therefore,  the  engagement  to  meet  Miss 
Bellamy  was  imprudently  mentioned,  Elsa  deter- 
mined to  frustrate  their  hopes.  With  this  wicked 
design  she  dismissed  Miles,  but  held  him  bound 
not  to  attempt  a  visit. 

Elsa  had  decided  to  go  herself.  Nor  could  this 
cruel  intrigue  be  excused  on  account  of  jealous}1-, 
for  no  such  extenuating  motive  existed. 

The  moment  her  victim  sorrowfully  wended  his 
way  homeward,  "  dragging  a  lengthening  chain  " 


MILES   STANDISH   HYPNOTIZED.  75 

with  slow  and  toilsome  steps,  Elsa  was  rapidly 
driven  to  the  home  of  Grace,  where  she  arrived 
just  in  time  for  a  hurried  call  before  her  de- 
parture. 

Grace  was  harassed.  Her  mother  was  ill,  and 
she  was  fatigued  by  the  hasty  preparations  for 
their  journey,  which  had  entirely  devolved  on  her. 
She  could  not  but  feel  that  the  non-appearance  of 
her  lover  was  a  severe  disappointment.  It  was 
perfectly  inexplicable  to  her,  why  he  had  solicited 
an  interview  and  then  failed  to  come.  And  he 
knew,  too,  that  she  was  about  leaving  town  for  an 
indefinite  period  of  time.  She  was  too  loyal  to 
her  friend  to  attach  blame  to  his  conduct  without 
hearing  his  explanation.  But  she  was  troubled. 
She  feared  and  almost  hoped,  that  he  might  be 
detained  by  some  sudden  indisposition. 

It  is  so  much  easier  to  bear,  that  those  we  care 
for  should  be  sick  bodily,  rather  than  unworthy; 
physically,  not  morally  ill.  Grace  had  not  until 
now  acknowledged  to  herself  that  she  was  in  love. 
It  was  not  a  part  of  her  almost  masculine  educa- 
tion to  yield  to  any  weakness.  It  had  rather 
pleased  her  fancy  to  be  platonic,  and  to  consider 
the  softer  emotions  as  illusions. 


76  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

Her  present  state  of  disquiet  was  therefore  a 
revelation. 

She  and  Elsa  had  not  been  sympathetic,  and 
Grace  was  rather  surprised  to  receive  Elsa's  card. 
The  two  women  were  so  totally  unlike  they  could 
never  have  been  specially  friends,  yet  women  are 
apt  to  admire  other  women  of  contrasting  types, 
and  Grace,  who  was  very  generous,  thought  Elsa 
sparkling  and  beautiful,  unique  and  remarkably 
clever,  as  she  was. 

The  meeting  was  made  cordial  by  Elsa,  who 
was  most  effusive,  and  inquired  with  solicitude 
about  Mrs.  Bellamy. 

"  I  could  not  refrain,  my  dear  Miss  Bellamy," 
she  said,  "from  making  this  short  call  before  your 
departure,  although  I  fear  to  trespass  at  such  a 
moment  upon  your  time.  Where  do  you  go  ?  " 

"  Mother  has  not  much  strength,"  answered 
Grace,  "  and  the  doctor  advises  us  to  make  the 
journey  as  little  fatiguing  as  possible.  We  have 
taken  a  cottage  at  Berkeley  Springs  for  the  bene- 
fit of  its  incomparable  bathing." 

"  I  may  myself  run  up  there  for  a  week  or  so," 
said  Elsa.  "  The  place  is  interesting  as  one  of 
the  very  first  known  among  our  springs." 


MFLES    STANDISH    HYPNOTIZED.  77 

"  I  have  been  told,"  said  Grace,  "  that  in  colo- 
nial days  it  was  much  frequented  as  a  fashionable 
resort.  My  mother  knows  an  old  lady  who  was 
married  when  a  very  young  girl  to  an  enormously 
wealthy  old  planter.  The  bridal  tour  was  made 
in  great  state  with  coach  and  four,  and  outriders 
in  livery,  and  they  went  to  Berkeley." 

"  And  it  is  of  historic  interest,"  added  Elsa, 
"that  the  curative  effect  of  these  waters  Avas  so 
highly  prized  by  the  Indians  that  a  certain  radius 
of  space  around  the  springs  was  considered  as 
neutral  ground.  Gipsies  and  Indians,"  she  laugh- 
ingly said,  "  the  true  children  of  Nature  know 
how  to  prize  her  sacred  soil.  But  good-bye  for 
the  present.  I  must  not  now  detain  you.  I  had 
intended  making  a  call  at  two  o'clock,  but  just  at 
that  time  Mr.  Standish  called,  and  he  was  so  very 
agreeable  ;  in  fact,  he  stayed  so  long  that — but 
you  know  how  really  fascinating  he  is.  Good- 
bye, good-b}7e.  Au  revoir" 

And  as  the  Zingara  tripped  lightly  and  exult- 
ingly  into  her  carriage,  Grace  Bellamy  with  a 
dazed,  pained  look,  and  a  heavy  heart,  slowly 
wended  her  way  back  to  her  mother's  room. 

Yet  even  before  she  reached  the  apartment,  her 


78  THE    SECRET    DIRECTORY. 

clear  judgment  and  loyalty  rejected  the  instilled 
poison  of  distrust. 

"I  cannot  be  thus  mistaken  in  Miles,"  she 
soliloquized,  "nor  will  I  condemn  him  upon  a 
seeming  faithlessness.  My  note  may  have  failed 
to  reach  him,  or  there  must  be  some  reason  as 
yet  unexplained." 

Yet  in  spite  of  all  this  generous  construction, 
she  felt  deeply  grieved  and  sorely  mystified. 
Then  turning  from  these  sad  thoughts,  she  de- 
voted herself  to  her  mother's  wants,  and  in  an- 
other hour  they  left  in  the  afternoon  train.  Nor 
could  she  refrain  from  hoping  even  at  the  last 
moment,  that  he  would  meet  them  at  the  station. 

"He  does  not  even  know,"  she  thought,  "where 
we  have  gone.  Shall  I  send  him  our  address? 
Scarcely,"  came  the  maidenly  answer  as  unbidden 
blushes  mantled  her  fair  cheeks.  "  Seek-  my 
friend  I  cannot.  That  were  too  humiliating  for 
self-respect." 

As  Elsa  drove  away  she  too  said  to  herself, 
"  This  day's  intrigue  ends  the  romance  of  two 
fools.  Their  horoscope  was  not  well  drawn  if 
they  imagined  that  their  stars  would  sing  together 
for  joy  when  mine  is  not  in  the  ascendant.  What 


MILES   STANDISH    HYPNOTIZED.  79 

right  have  they  to  be  happy,  while  the  Zingara 
Queen  sues  in  vain?  Ah,"  she  exclaimed  with 
sudden  access  of  fury,  "did  I  for  one  moment 
suppose  that  Adonhiram  cared  for  her,  or  for  any 
woman,  she  should  die  the  death." 


80  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

SHIBBOLETH. 

As  the  Israelites  had  their  watchword  and  the 
uninitiated  could  be  detected  by  the  accentuation 
of  a  syllable,  so  have  the  oath-bound  societies  of 
the  present  day  their  "  Shibboleth." 

Centuries  come  and  centuries  go,  but  the  musty 
cobweb-veil  of  Isis,  still  shuts  out  the  broad  en- 
lightenment that  the  outspoken  freedom  encour- 
ages, which  our  republican  institutions  are  in- 
tended to  foster.  Yet  now  and  then,  there  are 
rents  in  this  veil  through  which  one  may  get  a 
glimpse  of  the  Shekinah  within. 

Elsa  proposed  through  hypnotism  to  explore 
these  mysteries,  and  thus  to  reach  the  hidden  life 
of  Adonhiram,  whom  her  detectives  informed  her, 
had  come  to  this  country  on  a  mission  connected 
with  Masonry. 

Some  years  previous  to  the  time  about  which 
we  write,  the  whole  country  had  been  agitated  by 
£he  sudden  disappearance  of  one  William  Morgan, 


SHIBBOLETH.  81 

who  having  betrayed  the  secrets  of  this  oath- 
bound  order,  had  met  with  an  untimely  fate  as  a 
terrible  warning  to  all  traitors. 

The  excitement  produced  by  the  supposed  mur- 
der of  this  unfortunate  man,  led  to  dissensions 
that  required,  even  a  score  of  years  later,  the  pres- 
ence of  one  high  in  Masonry,  with  talent  and  in- 
vested authority  to  restore  the  ancient  landmarks. 

But  in  spite  of  all  the  revelations  that  Morgan 
made,  the  attempt  to  unmask  Masonry  was  not 
successful,  and  it  is  said  that  the  book  he  pub- 
lished cannot  now  be  found.  However  there  re- 
sulted some  literature  on  the  subject  from  other 
sources,  of  more  or  less  importance. 

But  history  in  the  hands  of  Time,  finds  the 
proper  niche  for  acts  of  heroic  endeavor,  and 
William  Morgan  with  John  Brown,  can  not  be 
forgotten  as  apostles  of  truth.  They  alike  mark 
eras  of  revolt  against  oppression. 


The  mild  glow  of  a  shaded  lamp  gave  just  light 
enough  to  distinguish  objects  as  Miles  Standish 
entered  the  drawing-room  that  evening,  to  meet 

the  engagement  Elsa  had  made  for  him. 
^ 


82  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

She  was  seated  in  an  armchair  not  far  from  the 
lamp,  and  she  placed  her  hypnotized  subject  near 
her  in  shadow,  so  that  he  could  see  her  very 
clearly  and  be  kept  under  the  influence,  if  need 
be,  of  the  fixed  regard  of  her  eyes. 

Elsa  was  satisfied  to  observe  his  mentality  en- 
tirely amenable  to  her  suggestions,  and  she  at 
once  commenced  her  inquisitorial  demands,  in  the 
most  imperious  and  exacting  manner. 

"  Miles  Standish,"  she  said,  "I  command  you  to 
tell  me  clearly  and  precisely,  without  evasion  or 
mental  reservation,  the  tilings  I  wish  to  know,  and 
remember  that  no  oath  is  binding  if  antagonized 
by  hypnotism.  It  is  necessary  that  I  should  know 
before  I  assign  you  your  work,  your  present  status 
and  past  relations  to  Freemasonry,  and  also  your 
real  opinions  thereof.  Begin  at  the  beginning." 

Miles  Standish  was  now  a  complete  hypnotic 
type,  and  irresponsible.  In  his  normal  state  he 
would  have  died  rather  than  betray  the  oaths  he 
had  taken. 

As  he  sat  there,  he  was  a  curious  physiological 
study,  with  hands  tightly  closed,  retaining  sense 
impressions,  and  evincing  no  emotion.  But  the 
surprising  psychical  manifestation  was  his  explicit 


SHIBBOLETH.  83 

obedience  to  the  suggestions  of  Elsa's  will.  He 
even  seemed  to  divine  her  thoughts  so  as  to  fol- 
low their  unspoken  indications,  and  without  the 
aid  of  directing  words,  to  unmask  his  inner  con- 
sciousness for  her  inspection. 

"  My  college  experience,"  he  said,  "  as  a  Phi 
Beta  Kappa  man,  rather  prepared  me  to  become  a 
Mason  at  an  early  age,  and  so  soon  as  I  was 
twenty-one,  I  entered  a  Lodge  and  was  passed  the 
first  degree  of  '  Entered  Apprentice.' 

"  My  imagination  had  been  greatly  excited  on 
the  subject.  The  profound  and  sustained  mystery 
of  the  order,  their  claim  of  remote  antiquity,  the 
symbolic  nature  of  their  ceremonies,  the  grandilo- 
quent titles  they  assumed  for  themselves  rivalling 
the  proudest  potentates,  their  invented  historical 
origin,  which  vies  with  the  wildest  mythical 
fables,  their  secret  signs,  tokens,  and  grips,  alike 
promised  an  inexhaustible  mine  of  concrete  lore. 
And  most  of  all,  it  was  my  yearning  for  wisdom 
withheld  from  the  uninitiated,  the  -^archaisms, 
that  proved  most  attractive  to  me." 

"  The  impostors,"  cried  Elsa,  her  face  flushing. 
"  Do  they  not  know  that  only  the  Zingari  have 
the  true  archaic  tongue  ?  The  Sanscrit  as  we 


84  THE  SECRET  DIRECTORY. 

speak  it  is  a  dead  letter  to  them.  Well,  you  be- 
came an  entered  apprentice.  Go  on." 

"  It  takes  seven  Freemasons  to  constitute  a 
Lodge,"  continued  he,  "  and  to  initiate  a  candidate 
for  this  Degree.  The  room  in  which  they  meet, 
is  supposed  to  represent  the  ground  floor  of 
Solomon's  Temple.  A  Mason  called  the  Tyler, 
stands  without  the  door  with  a  drawn  sword  in 
his  hand,  and  this  takes  place  in  every  meeting 
of  every  Lodge  of  whatever  Degree." 

"A  sword  drawn  against  what  ?"  interrogated 
Elsa  ironically. 

"  Cowans  and  eavesdroppers,"  replied  her  sub- 
ject, 

"  What  are  Cowans  ?  "  asked  she. 

"  The  word  is  in  dispute,"  answered  he,  "  but  it 
is  said  to  be  a  corruption  of  Chouans  the  loyalists, 
who  were  opposed  to  the  Revolutionists  as  led  by 
Robespierre  and  other  Masons,  so  that  Cowan  be- 
came a  synonym  for  anti  Mason." 

"  Go  on,"  said  Elsa. 

"  When  due  precautions  to  insure  secrecy  have 
been  taken,  a  Lodge  of  whatever  Degree  is  said 
to  be  « tyled.'  " 

"  Sounds  mystic,"  interrupted  she  with  a  sneer. 


SHIBBOLETH.  85 

"  A  catechetical  examination  then  took  place  in 
which  I  was  instructed  how  to  answer,"  pro- 
ceeded he.  "Of  the  more  important,  I  noted 
that  the  signs  of  this  Degree  are  three,  viz:  right 
angles,  horizontals  and  perpendiculars,  and  the 
Master  and  Brethren  gave  them  with  precision. 
The  balls  given  for  voting  were  black  and  white. 
All  the  language  used  was  figurative.  Most  of 
it  referred  to  the  figment  of  Solomon's  Temple, 
as  for  instance  the  different  corners  of  the  Lodge 
are  called  West,  East,  South  and  North. 

"In  the  half  hour  allotted  for  refreshments 
everything  has  an  assumed  name.  The  table  is 
crescent  shaped,  and  the  convives  are  seated  on 
the  outside.  The  service  must  be  placed  in  three 
parallel  lines,  first  plates,  then  bottles  and  glasses, 
then  the  platters  and  lights ;  and  every  article 
has  a  symbolic  name  ;  the  lights  are  called  stars, 
the  knives  swords,  arid  salt  sand." 

"  Oh,"  said  Elsa,  "  it  is  a  sort  of  puerile  embodi- 
ment of  the  old  and  new  dispensations,  with  hints 
of  the  Sacrament  of  Christ.  One  feels  the  hand 
of  Voltaire  in  the  finesse  of  making  sacred  things 
ridiculous." 

"Masonry,"  continued  he,  "refers   principally 


86  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

to  the  history  of  the  Israelites,  from  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  tower  of  Babel,  the  Noachite  days, 
those  of  Moses  and  Aaron,  and  the  building  of 
the  temple  of  Solomon,  which  fellow-Masons  are 
forever  emblematically  rebuilding.  The  two  Saint 
Johns,  however,  have  been  adopted  out  of  the 
New  Testament." 

"  Well,"  said  Elsa,  "  how  were  you  mystically 
prepared  as  a  candidate  ?  " 

"I  was,"  replied  he,  "divested  of  my  clothing 
and  clad  in  a  pair  of  old  red  drawers,  being 
blindfolded,  and  a  rope  called  a  '  cable  tow  '  put 
around  my  neck.  Then,  after  another  long 
catechetical  examination  in  which  my  answers 
were  prompted,  and  a  prayer  in  which  Aaron's 
beard  and  the  dew  of  Hermon  on  Zion  were  al- 
luded to,  I  was  conducted  hither  and  thither,  to 
East  and  back  again  to  West,  and  finally  I  was 
led  up  to  the  Altar,  where  with  the  palm  of  my 
left  hand  placed  under  the  Bible,  and  the  right 
hand  on  square  and  compass  upon  the  altar,  I 
repeated  a  long  oath,  the  substance  of  which  was 
that  '  in  presence  of  Almighty  God '  I  solemnly 
swore  never  to  betray  the  secrets  of  Masonry,  and 
binding  myself  under  a  penalty." 


SHIBBOLETH.  87 

"  What  was  the  form  of  the  penalty  ?  "  inquired 
the  inquisitor. 

"  It  was,"  answered  the  hypnotized  Mason, 
without  a  trace  of  emotion,  "  to  have  my  throat 
cut  across  from  ear  to  ear,  my  tongue  torn  out  by 
the  roots,  and  my  body  buried  in  the  rough  sands 
of  the  sea  ;  and— 

"  Hold,"  cried  Elsa.  "  You  would  die  from  the 
cutting  of  your  throat,  so  never  mind  the  rest  of 
the  penalty.  Go  on." 

"  I  was  then  instructed  in  my  grip,"  calmly  pro- 
ceeded he,  "  which  is  called  '  Boaz,'  and  after 
that,  the  white  apron  was  given  me,  which  I  was 
assured  was  more  ancient  than  the  Golden  Fleece, 
or  Roman  Eagle,  and  more  honorable  than  the 
Star  and  Garter,  or  any  other  order. 

"  After  that  I  was  lectured,  instructed,  and 
asked  for  the  '  Metallic,'  which  meant  some 
money ;  put  through  the  grip,  the  steps,  the  oath 
and  the  penalty  anew ;  pricked  upon  the  left 
breast  with  a  sharp  pointed  instrument,  conducted 
to  the  East,  ordered  back  to  the  West,  prayed 
over,  given  the  new  name  of  '  Caution,'  also  the 
working  tools  of  an  Entered  Apprentice,  the 
gauge  and  gavel ;  then  presented  metaphorically 


88  THE    SECRET   DIRECTOEY. 

with  three  jewels,  viz :  a  listening  ear,  a  silent 
tongue,  and  a  faithful  heart. 

'•  After  that,  I  was  taken  out  of  the  Lodge,  in- 
vested with  my  own  clothing,  and  returned  for 
further  examination.  The  password  of  Tubal 
Cain  was  given  me,  and  I  was  instructed  in  the 
symbolic  meaning  of  what  I  had  seen,  heard,  and 
experienced,  which  was — 

"  Take  breath,"  interrupted  Elsa,  laughing,  "re- 
invest yourself  with  sanity.  Don't  symbolize  all 
that  hodgepodge,  but  tell  me  without  figure  of 
speech,  what  was  at  the  root  of  it  all.  What  did 
you  learn  that  was  real,  out  of  all  that  mummery? 
This  is  a  practical  age,  and  when  we  go  back  to 
the  Temple  of  Solomon  we  expect  to  dig  out  of 
its  ruins  some  pure  nuggets  of  gold.  You  have 
given  me  the  Essence.  What  was  the  Quint- 
essence ?  " 

Hypnotism  spoke  the  truth  and  answered, 
"  Nothing." 

Then  Elsa  very  naturally  inquired,  "  Since  you 
learned  nothing,  and  gained  nothing,  why  did  }7ou 
continue?" 

"  Because,"  answered  Miles,  "  I  had  now  be- 
come a  member  of  an  oath-bound  order,  and  I 


SHIBBOLETH.  89 

could  not  well  look  back  from  the  threshold.  Be- 
sides, I  always  looked  forward  to  an  increase  of 
ligJit  which  was  promised." 

"  What  followed?"  asked  the  Zingara. 

"  After  a  time  I  became  a  candidate  for  the 
degree  of  Fellow  Craft,  the  password  of  which  is 
'  Shibboleth.'  This  is  whispered  from  ear  to  ear, 
throughout  the  Lodge. 

"  Being  entered  as  a  candidate  for  this  new 
Degree,  my  eyes  were  bandaged  as  before,  arid  I 
was  conducted  round  the  Lodge  from  West  to 
East  twice,  which  is  called  *  traveling,'  and  after 
no  end  of  questions,  I  was  put  in  a  proper  kneel- 
ing position  to  take  the  oath,  which  was  very 
formidable,  and  there  was  a  penalty." 

"Never  mind  the  oath,"  said  Elsa.  "  What  was 
the  penalty  for  its  transgression  ?" 

The  hypnotic  answered  quietly,  "  To  have  iny 
left  breast  torn  open,  my  heart  and  vitals  taken 
from  thence,  thrown  over  my  left  shoulder,  and 
carried  to  the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat ;  there — 

"  I  am  satisfied  with  that  picturesque  clause," 
laughed  Elsa.  "  What  next  was  done  ?  " 

"  Then  the  Master  said, "continued  the  hypnotic, 
" '  And  God  said,  Let  there  be  light,  and  there 


90  THE   SECRET    DIRECTORY. 

was  light,'  whereupon  the  bandage  was  slipped 
from  my  eyes." 

"  What  did  you  see?  "  exclaimed  Elsa. 

"  I  saw,"  said  he,  "  one  point  of  the  compass  ele- 
vated above  the  square." 

"Very  impressive/'  said  she  in  an  astonished 
tone,  "{jo  on." 

"  I  was  then  taught,"  he  continued,  "  to  wear 
my  apron  with  one  corner  tucked  under  the  apron 
string,  and  the  tools  of  a  Fellow  Craft  Mason 
were  given  to  me.  They  were  the  plumb,  square 
and  level.  I  then  listened  to  a  long  lecture  about 
the  building  of  Solomon's  Temple,  and  two  pillars 
of  the  hall,  respectively  named  Bo;iz  and  Jachin 
were  shown  me,  an  explanation  of  their  mystical 
meaning  given,  and  also  of  the  numbers  three, 
five,  and  seven.  I  then  heard  a  discourse  about 
Jephtha,  and  the  password  Shibboleth,  as  also  the 
declaration,  that  the  letter  G  denoted  God  and 
Geometry.  I  was  now  a  passed  Fellow  Crafts- 
man." 

"  And  how  far  were  you  advanced  in  wisdom  ?  " 
was  Elsa's  inflexible  query.  "  But  pass  on  to  the 
next  Degree,  where  perhaps  more  light  will  be 
made  manifest," 


SHIBBOLETH.  91 

When  a  man  is  hypnotized,  he  becomes  a  human 
automaton,  and  this  phase  of  the  influence  was 
strongly  exemplified  in  Miles  Stan  dish  who  now 
spoke,  moved,  and  even  seemed  to  think,  mechan- 
ically. He  had  passed  the  first  stage  of  conflict 
which  produced  painful  emotions.  Thus  he  pro- 
ceeded as  if  he  were  a  piece  of  mechanism  to 
give  the  recital  of  his  initiation  to  the  third  De- 
gree, or  that  of  Master  Mason. 

"  There  was  much,"  said  he,  "  that  was  painful 
to  my  self-respect  in  this  induction. 

"  The  Lodge  was  opened  as  in  the  preceding 
Degrees,  and  when  all  was  ready,  I  was  taken  into 
the  preparation  room,  and  stripped  of  all  my 
clothing.  I  was  then  invested  in  an  old  pair  of 
drawers,  which  were  fastened  round  my  hips  and 
rolled  above  the  knee.  Over  this  my  shirt  was 
slipped  down  around  my  body,  which  was  left 
naked  from  the  waist  up.  A  cable  tow  was  wound 
three  times  round  my  body,  and  my  eyes  were 
bandaged.  I  was  then  made  to  give  three  knocks 
at  the  door,  which  being  opened,  a  long  examina- 
tion took  place  in  which  my  answers  were 
prompted.  The  password  of  Tubal  Cain  was  at 
this  juncture  whispered,  and  I  was  received  by 


92  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

pressing  the  points  of  the  compass  against  my 
breast. 

"•After  which,  I  was  conducted  three  times 
round  the  Lodge  traveling  with  the  Sun,  and  each 
time  I  passed  the  Warden  and  Master,  I  received 
first  one,  then  two,  and  the  third  time  three  raps 
with  the  gavel. 

"  During  this  ceremony,  the  most  doleful  pas- 
sages of  Scripture  were  read  to  me,  reminding  me 
of  my  last  end/' 

"  Very  suggestive,  I  have  no  doubt,"  said  Elsa, 
"of  what  an  unfaithful  member  might  expect," 
and  she  smiled  in  a  very  provoking  way.  The 
face  of  the  hypnotized,  like  a  mirror,  repeated  her 
smile,  presenting  a  curious  pathological  study. 
"  Go  on,"  she  said. 

"I  was  then  advanced  up  three  steps  of  the 
Altar,  made  to  kneel,  raise  both  hands  and  arms, 
in  a  manner  which  is  called  '  giving  the  grand 
hailing  sign  of  distress '  when  with  both  hands 
brought  down  on  the  Bible,  square  and  com- 
pass, the  oath  was  administered. 

"  This  oath  was  longer,  more  complicated,  and 
involved  new  and  other  obligations  than  those  I 
had  hitherto  taken." 


SHIBBOLETH.  93 

"  Did  any  of  its  clauses,"  inquired  Elsa,  "  relate 
to  any  particular  classes  of  people?" 

"  Yes,"  said  Miles.  "  One  was :  Furthermore, 
do  I  promise  and  swear,  that  I  will  not  be  at  the 
initiating,  passing  or  raising  of  an  old  man  in 
dotage,  a  young  man  in  non-age,  a  madman, 
a  woman  or  a  fool,  and — 

"Being  a  woman,"  said  Elsa  scornfully,  "I  find 
that  clause  wherein  I  am  specified  with  the  non- 
privileged  classes  of  madmen  and  fools,  very  en- 
couraging. Pray,  what  was  the  penalty  ?  " 

"No  less  penalty,"  resumed  the  hypnotic,  "than 
to  have  my  body  severed  in  two  in  the  centre, 
and " 

"I  am  very  merciful,"  said  Elsa,  "and  alwa}Ts 
satisfied  by  the  time  one  is  killed  outright,  and  not 
so  bloodthirsty  as  to  wish  to  pile  penalties  on  the 
murdered.  So  please  desist  and  proceed." 

Without  the  change  of  a  muscle,  the  subject 
continued,  "  The  way  to  use  the  pass-grip  of  Tubal 
Cain  was  taught  me,  the  Apron  tied  on  with  the 
flap  down,  and  I  was  supplied  with  a  trowel,  in 
addition  to  the  other  tools  of  Masonry  already 
given  me.  Upon  my  eyes  being  unbandaged  I 
was  shown  both  points  of  the  compass  as  elevated 


94  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

above  the  square,  and  this  was  explained  to  me  as 
denoting  that  I  had  received  more  light  in  Ma- 
sonry." 

"  How  dazzling  !  "  cried  Elsa. 

"  After  which  the  Master  read  me  a  charge," 
continued  he,  "and  the  Senior  Deacon  conducted 
me  to  the  preparation  room  where  I  was  rein- 
vested with  my  own  clothing  and  returned  to  the 
Lodge  for  furthur  instruction.  The  Lodge  was 
called  in  their  parlance,  from  labor  to  refreshment, 
and  as  the  company  were  very  merry,  drinking 
and  laughing,  I  supposed  that  they  had  finished 
with  me.  But  never  was  man  more  disagreeably 
mistaken,  for  presently  the  Master  with  one  rap 
of  his  gavel,  reassembled  the  brethren  who  so  in- 
stantly were  seated,  that  I  was  left  standing  alone 
in  the  middle  of  the  room.  Whereupon  I  was 
seized,  hoodwinked  and  made  to  kneel  at  the  Al- 
tar, where  I  was  bid  to  pray,  as  I  had  to  prepare 
for  a  "very  trying  scene,  in  which  I  might  meet 
with  my  death.  When  I  rose  from  the  Altar,  I 
was  taken  by  the  arm  and  led  several  times  around 
the  Lodge.  An  extraordinary  scene  was  then  en- 
acted, in  which  it  was  explained  to  me,  that  I  per- 
sonated Hiram-Abiff,  who  was  murdered  by  three 


SHIBBOLETH.  95 

ruffians  in  the  Sanctum- Sanctorum  of  Solomon's 
Temple. 

"  Thereupon  I  was  assaulted  by  these  three  as- 
sassins, whose  names  were  Jubela,  Jubelo,  and 
Jubelum,  who  seized  me  by  the  throat,  dragged 
me  about  with  violence,  struck  me  with  a  twenty- 
four  inch  gauge  across  the  throat,  gave  me  a  severe 
blow  on  the  breast  with  the  gavel,  and  finally 
knocked  me  a  blow  on  the  forehead  that  brought 
me  to  the  iloor.  I  was  then  carried  in  a  blanket 
to  a  corner  of  the  room  and  covered  up. 

"  After  which  I  was  taken  up  by  four  Brother 
Masons,  and  carried  in  the  blanket  several  times 
round  the  room,  and  finally  deposited  on  the  floor, 
with  my  feet  to  the  East,  and  covered  up  with 
chairs  and  benches.  I  was  declared  to  be  in  my 
grave,  and  a  sprig  of  cassia  was  stuck  down  by 
my  head. 

"  The  ruffians  then  held  a  long  colloquy  as  to 
the  proper  disposition  to  be  made  of  my  body,  in 
which  they  asserted  among  other  things,  that  I  had 
been  dead  so  long  that  I  began  to  smell  a  little. 
At  this  juncture  there  was  a  great  shuffling  of  feet 
throughout  the  hall,  and  I  was  given  to  understand 
that  King  Solomon  had  arrived,  and  the  three 


96  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

knaves  had  fled.  The  shuffling  was  resumed,  and 
it  was  announced  that  Hiram-Abiff  was  missing. 
A  curious  dramatic  recital  was  then  given,  of  the 
murder  of  Hiram-Abiff,  when  after  a  search,  the 
grave  was  found,  and  prayers  were  said  over  me 
as  if  I  were  dead. 

"  The  performance  ended  by  the  Master  seizing 
me  by  the  '  lion's  grip,'  and  raising  me  witli  a 
strong  pull  to  my  feet ;  and  as  he  did  so,  he 
whispered  in  my  ear,  '  Mah-hah -bone,'  giving  me 
at  the  same  time  the  Master's  grip. 

"My  eyes  being  uncovered,  a  lecture  was  given 
in  which  the  events  of  my  initiation  were  recapit- 
ulated, and  their  hidden  meaning  attempted  to 
be  explained. 

"Finally,  I  was  told  that  I  had  taken  the  third 
degree  or  step  in  Masonry,  and  was  thenceforth 
entitled  to  assist  in  any  Masters'  Lodge." 

"  What  a  brutal  and  senseless  exhibition,"  cried 
Elsa.  "  I  do  not  wonder  that  men  exclude  women 
when  they  enact  such  puerilities." 


The  subject  made  no  comment  whatever,  but 
proceeded  in  his  narrative  in  a  purely  mechan- 


SHIBBOLETH.  97 

ical  way  as  before,  passing  on  to  the  recital  of 
his  initiation  to  the  Fourth,  or  Mark  Master's 
Degree. 

"  The  Lodge  being  tyled,"  he  said,  "  and  all 
precautions  properly  taken  as  in  the  preceding  de- 
grees, and  the  password  of 'Joppa' whispered,  a 
colloquy  was  held  as  to  the  places  assigned.  The 
Brethren  being  clothed,  that  is  having  put  on 
their  aprons  and  jewels,  the  Lodge  was  declared 
duly  opened. 

"The  five  signs  of  Mark  Mason  were  thereupon 
given.  Of  these  signs  the  second  and  the  fourth 
alluded  to  the  penalties  of  the  obligation,  to  have 
the  right  hand  struck  off  and  the  ear  smote  off. 

"I  was  after  this  taken  into  an  adjoining  room 
by  the  Senior  Warden  who  pulled  off  his  coat  and 
rolling  his  shirt  sleeves  to  the  shoulder,  directed 
me  to  do  the  same.  After  this  he  took  a  small 
block  of  white  marble  weighing  about  eleven 
pounds,  and  giving  me  a  keystone  of  the  same  ma- 
terial and  weight,  we  entered  the  Lodge  as  crafts- 
men from  the  quarries  who  were  bringing  up 
work  for  inspection. 

"  Our  entrance  led  to  a  lengthy  examination  car- 
ried on  in  the  language  of  craftsmen  which  ended 
7 


98  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

in  the  rejection  of  my  work,  or  piece  of  marble 
presented,  as  not  having  the  proper  mark  upon  it. 
At  this  time  there  was  a  great  shuffling  ot  feet, 
and  it  was  announced  by  the  Senior  Warden  that 
the  disturbance  was  caused  because  the  craftsmen 
were  impatient  to  receive  their  wages.  There- 
upon, they  all  marched  in  procession  by  two  and 
two,  singing  a  song,  to  the  tune  of  God  save  the 
King,  that  commenced : 

"  'Mark  Masters,  all  appear 
Before  the  Chief  Overseer, '  etc. 

"  At  the  close  of  the  second  verse,  each  brother 
in  turn  walked  up  to  a  lattice  window  and  thrust 
his  hand  through  a  hole  in  the  window,  when  to 
every  man  was  given  a  penny.  I  was  the  last, 
and  when  I  put  my  hand  in  as  I  had  seen  the 
others  do,  my  arm  was  suddenly  seized  and  vio- 
lently drawn  in  up  to  the  shoulder  with  angry 
exclamations  of,  'An  Impostor.'  Whereupon  a 
third  person  rushed  forward  with  a  drawn  sword 
crying  out,  '  Strike  off  his  hand,'  while  others 
called,  '  Spare  him ;  he  is  not  an  impostor.' 
Finally  upon  my  giving  the  sign  of  a  fellow  crafts- 
man Mason,  my  arm  was  released. 


SHIBBOLETH.  99 

"  I  was  then  placed  on  trial,  and  informed  that 
I  had  incurred  the  penalty  to  have  my  right  hand 
struck  off.  After  weighing  all  the  evidence,  I 
was  let  off  with  a  good  shaking,  and  conducted 
back  to  the  preparation  room.  Here  I  was  di- 
vested of  my  outer  apparel,  of  my  money  and 
valuables,  my  breast  was  bared,  and  a  cable  tow 
was  passed  four  times  round  my  body. 

"On  applying  for  readmission  I  was  challenged, 
but  finally  the  door  was  opened,  my  arms  held 
firmly  behind  my  back,  and  a  chisel  pressed 
against  my  breast ;  then  as  the  chisel  was  struck 
with  a  mallet  the  Senior  Deacon  exclaimed,  '  As  a 
Mark  Master  Mason  we  receive  you  upon  the  edge 
of  the  indenting  chisel,  and  under  the  pressure  of 
the  mallet.'  He  then  threw  down  these  tools  and 
seizing  my  cable  tow,  said,  '  Follow  me.'  While 
I  was  thus  conducted  four  times  round  the  Lodge, 
passages  from  the  Psalms  and  the  Gospels  were 
read  aloud. 

"  Presently  I  was  made  to  ascend  four  steps  of 
the  Altar,  and  kneeling  make  my  oath,  which  was 
in  part  a  recapitulation  of  former  oaths,  with  the 
penalty  of  hand  and  ear  being  chopped  off." 

At  this  Elsa  threw  up  her  pretty  digits  like  ex- 


100  THE    SECRET    DIRECTORY. 

clamation  points,  and  laughed  derisively  ;  when 
her  hypnotized  subjrct  reechoed  her  laugh. 
"  Proceed,"  she  said,  nodding  her  head,  and  the 
monotone  was  resumed  as  if  without  interruption. 

"  Money  was  then  demanded  of  me,  and  indig- 
nation expressed  because  I  had  none.  This  new 
perplexity  was  met  by  someone  slipping  twenty- 
five  cents  in  my  pocket  without  my  being  aware  of 
it ;  and  there  was  a  renewal  of  assumed  rage  upon  my 
being  searched,  when  it  was  discovered.  Finally 
the  pass  grip  of  Joppa  was  given  me,  and  also 
a  new  name  which  none  but  Mark  Masters  receive. 
There  is  a  circle  of  letters  that  is  the  mark  of 
this  degree,  and  each  Mark  Master  Mason  must 
place  his  own  private  mark,  which  may  be  any 
device  he  may  choose,  within  the  circle.  The 
letters  are  the  initials  of  the  words  Hiram,  Tyrian, 
Widow's  Son,  Sent  to  King  Solomon. 

"  A  long  historical  account  was  then  read  to  me 
about  the  building  of  Solomon's  Temple,  and  the 
meaning  of  their  ceremonies  as  connected  with 
this  event.  At  the  close  of  this  lecture  they  all 
formed  two  and  two  and  marched  round  the 
Lodge  against  the  sun,  at  the  same  time  singing 
a  song  about  Hiram  the  Widow's  son. 


SHIBBOLETH.  101 

"At  the  conclusion  of  the  song,  there  was  a 
countermarch,  during  which  each  man  stopped  a 
second  time  at  the  lattice  window,  and  received  his 
penny.  This  payment  produced  a  sort  of  strike, 
as  the  craftsmen  were  in  revolt  and  dissatisfied 
with  their  pay.  Upon  which  King  Solomon  read 
to  them  the  twentieth  chapter  of  St.  Matthew, 
which  brought  about  an  amicable  result.  I  was 
then  declared  to  be  a  Mark  Master  Mason." 

"That  was  an  amusing  anachronism,"  said 
Elsa  derisively.  "  When  King  Solomon  read  the 
New  Testament  to  quell  a  riot.  It  is  in  keeping 
however,  with  the  whole  galimatias.  Pray  go  on 
with  the  Arabian  Nights." 

"  The  succeeding  initiation,"  he  continued, 
"  was  the  Past  Master's  Degree. 

"  A  Master  Mason  cannot  take  the  Master's 
Chair  until  he  has  received  this  Degree,  which  is 
generally  conferred  in  a  Chapter  of  Royal  Arch 
Masons. 

"  I  was  led  into  the  Lodge  where  all  were 
seated  with  their  hats  on,  arid  I  took  my  chair 
without  ceremony,  when  almost  at  once  a  note  was 
handed,  the  right  worshipful  Master  presiding,  re- 
questing his  instant  presence  at  home  on  account 


102  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

of  a  distressing  accident.  No  one  being  willing 
to  fill  the  Chair  in  the  absence  of  the  presiding 
officer,  I  was  to  my  great  surprise  unanimously 
elected  to  occupy  the  place. 

"  Whereupon  I  was  conducted  to  the  altar,  and 
there  kneeling  with  both  hands  placed  on  the 
Bible,  square  and  compass,  I  took  the  oath  with 
the  penalty  of  having  my  tongue  split  from  tip  to 
root  if  I  violated  any  part  of  my  obligations. 

"  Having  kissed  the  book  five  times,  the  sign 
was  given  me,  and  I  was  conducted  to  the 
Oriental  Chair  of  Solomon,  which  was  placed  in 
front  of  the  Master's  Chair.  From  this  chair  I 
was  'raised'  and  *  seated  '  several  times  by  means 
of  the  Past  Master's  grip  which  was  taught  me.  I 
was  then  led  to  the  Master's  Chair,  where  I  was 
presented  with  the  various  implements  of  the 
craft,  viz:  the  Bible,  the  square, the  compasses,  the 
rule,  the  line,  and  lastly  the  mallet,  as  the  emblem 
of  power.  I  was  now  left  to  the  government  of 
the  Lodge.  A  scene  of  utter  confusion  at  once 
arose  in  which  I  was  made  the  target  for  the 
practical  jokes  of  my  fellow -craftsmen.  The 
more  I  tried  to  restore  order,  the  wilder  rose  the 
disorder.  They  danced,  whistled,  sang,  scuffled 


SHIBBOLETH.  103 

with  each  other,  jumped  about,  made  speeches, 
knocked  down  chairs,  and  benches,  and  finally 
assaulted  me,  jerked  off  my  hat,  and  dragged  me 
to  the  floor.  At  this  critical  moment,  the  Wor- 
shipful Master  appeared,  and  informed  me  I  could 
abdicate,  which  I  was  only  too  glad  to  do. 

"  I  was  then  addressed  by  the  Master,  who  at 
once  restored  order,  and  who  explained  to  me  that 
the  preceding  scene  was  intended  to  convey  an 
important  lesson,  viz  :  Never  to  accept  an  office 
or  station  for  which  I  was  not  qualified.  With 
this  injunction,  the  Lodge  was  declared  closed." 

"  It  is  quite  tiresome,"  said  Elsa  yawning, 
whereupon  her  subject  also  yawned  to  her  great 
merriment.  "  I  declare,"  she  exclaimed,  "  you 
are  my  double.  How  many  more  degrees  have 
you  taken,  or  metaphorically  speaking,  how  many 
bells  jingle  on  your  fool's  cap  ?  " 

"  One  more  only,"  he  quietly  replied,  which 
answer  renewed  her  mirth,  and  she  decreed,  "  Let 
me  have  the  full  gamut." 

"I  was  later  on,"  he  said,  "  a  candidate  for  the 
Most  Excellent  Master's  Degree.  The  ceremony 
of  opening  this  Lodge  was  similar  to  the  others  I 
have  described.  After  all  were  seated,  the  Most 


104  THE  SECRET  DIRECTORY. 

Excellent  Master  gave  the  order  that  the  brethren 
should  assemble  round  the  Altar,  which  they  did 
kneeling  in  a  circle  on  the  left  knee,  and  joining 
hands,  each  giving  the  right  hand  brother  the  left 
hand  and  the  left  hand  brother  the  right  hand. 
During  which  time  Psalm  XXIV.  was  read  in  a 
sonorous  voice  by  the  Most  Excellent  Master 
standing. 

"  At  the  close  of  the  reading  he  knelt,  joined 
hands  with  the  others,  when  they  all  lifted  their 
hands  as  joined  together  up  and  down  six  times, 
keeping  time  as  they  did  so,  one,  two,  three  ;  one, 
two,  three.  This  movement  they  called  'balanc- 
ing,' at  the  close  of  which  they  disengaged  their 
hands  and  let  them  fall  again.  I  was  informed 
that  this  sign  represented  the  astonishment  of 
the  Queen  of  Sheba,  upon  first  viewing  Solomon's 
Temple." 

"  The  pantomime  is  a  very  touching  allusion  to 
the  Queen,"  exclaimed  Elsa. 

"All  the  signs  were  then  given,"  continued  the 
hypnotized  who  heard  all  remarks  unmoved.  "  I 
had  been  detained  in  the  preparation  room  until 
now,  when  the  Junior  Deacon  came  for  me,  took 
off  my  coat  and  put  a  cable  tow  six  times  round 


SHIBBOLE1H.  105 

my  body.  Six  raps  were  then  given  for  admit- 
tance, when  being  duly  questioned,  and  my  answer 
prompted,  the  password  '  Haboni^  was  whispered. 
This  was  succeeded  by  still  other  questions  as  to 
my  fitness,  when  the  door  was  fully  opened  and  I 
was  received  by  the  Senior  Deacon  upon  the  Key- 
stone. The  next  ceremony  was  to  walk  me  six 
times  round  the  Lodge,  during  which  a  Psalm  was 
read.  This  being  ended,  I  was  led  from  the  South 
to  the  West,  from  thence  to  the  East,  then  con- 
ducted back  to  the  West,  and  thence  back  again 
to  the  East,  and  at  each  successive  station  there 
was  a  repetition  of  the  same  examination.  Finally, 
I  was  placed  upon  the  sixth  step  of  the.  Altar, 
kneeling,  and  with  both  hands  on  the  Bible, 
square  and  compass,  when  the  oath  of  the  degree 
was  administered,  with  the  penalty  of  being  torn 
asunder.  After  kissing  the  book  six  times,  the 
sign,  grip,  and  password  of  '  RaboniJ  were  given 
me. 

"  Succeeding  my  initiation,  there  took  place  a 
celebration  of  the  Cap-stone.  The  brethren 
formed  a  procession  double  file,  marching  six  times 
round  the  Lodge,  singing  and  giving  all  the 
signs. 


106  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

"The  two  columns  Jachin  and  Boaz  were  then 
brought  forward  and  set  in  place,  and  a  wooden 
arch  put  over  them,  in  the  centre  of  which  was 
left  a  place  for  the  Keystone,  which  was  driven  in 
position  by  six  raps  with  the  gavel.  The  crafts- 
men then  moved  round  as  before  singing,  and  as 
they  did  so  divested  themselves  of  their  jewels, 
aprons,  sashes,  etc.,  and  hung  them  on  the 
arch. 

"During  all  this  time,  the  Ark  which  had  been 
carried  round  by  four  Masons,  was  placed  upon 
the  Altar,  and  a  pot  of  incense  put  on  it.  Every 
one  stopped  and  all  faced  inwards  to  the  Altar,  and 
with  upraised  hands  and  upturned  eyes  sang  a 
hymn  which  begins : 

"  '  Almighty  Jehovah,  descend  now  and  fill, 
This  Lodge  with  thy  glory,'  etc., 

when  all  knelt  and  joined  hands  while  the  Scrip- 
ture was  read.  During  the  reading,  burning  gum 
camphor  was  thrown  into  the  pot  of  incense,  and 
while  this  illumination  was  in  progress,  the  pro- 
cess of  balancing  was  repeated  six  times,  and 
again  six  times.  The  Lodge  was  then  closed." 

There  was  silence.  The  hypnotized  awaited 
suggestions,  having  finished  his  recital. 


SHIBBOLETH.  107 

"If  I  were  a  Christian,"  said  Elsa,  "which  I 
am  not,  I  would  consider  the  invocation  of  the 
awful  Jehovah  before  such  an  altar  a  sacrilege. 
Have  you  applied  for  the  next  degree  ?  "  asked 
she. 

"  Yes,"  he  answered. 

"Is  there  a  Lodge  held  to-morrow  night?"  she 
inquired.  "And  could  you  then  be  admitted?" 

"I  could,"  he  replied. 

"Report  to  me  then,  no  matter  at  what  hour 
to-morrow  night,  after  you  receive  this  degree," 
she  enjoined,  "and  do  riot  fail  to  give  me  an  exact 
report  of  Adonhiram." 


108  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   ROYAL   ARCH. 

MILES  STANDISH  was  now  about  to  experience 
a  new  phase  of  the  hypnotic  power,  and  to  un- 
dergo an  ordeal  more  painful,  than  that  to  which 
he  had  hitherto  been  subjected  In  order  to 
measure  the  extent  of  his  suffering,  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  although  his  mentality  was  de- 
pressed by  the  loss  of  will  power,  yet  his  intellect 
was  not  clouded  so  as  to  make  him  unconscious  of 
right  and  wrong. 

Conscience,  the  faithful  monitor  of  the  soul,  still 
guarded  the  immortal  principle,  although  droop- 
ing, manacled,  and  deprived  through  the  loss  of 
will,  of  freedom.  Doubtless  one  of  the  keenest 
pangs  the  lost  must  endure,  is  to  find  themselves 
forever  chained  with  links  of  their  own  forging  by 
the  unrestricted  acts  of  a  free  will.  Thus  it  must 
in  the  committal  of  crime  add  to,  rather  than 
mitigate  suffering,  to  know  that  the  penalty  is 
the  consequence  of  deliberate  choice. 


THE   ROYAL   ARCH.  109 

Miles  Standish  had  felt  the  deepest  humiliation 
to  find  himself  enslaved  and  compelled  to  the  be- 
trayal of  that  which  he  had  taken  an  oath  never 
to  reveal.  The  terrible  tension  of  the  power  that 
impelled  him  produced  a  sort  of  apathy,  and  we 
have  beheld  him  a  mere  human  automaton,  acting 
under  the  pressure  of  an  electrical  motor;  but 
what  was  this  painful  strain  to  compare  to  that 
inflicted  by  the  inexorable  fiat  under  which  he 
must  now  act?  He  was  under  an  order  that 
would  force  him  to  repair  to  the  Lodge  where  he 
had  hitherto  met  his  brethren  in  good  faith,  with 
the  base  purpose  of  acting  as  a  spy.  He  was 
ordered  to  seek  initiation  into  the  Royal  Arch,  the 
honored  Seventh  Degree,  the  mystic  crowning  of 
the  other  steps  he  had  taken,  and  to  take  an  oath 
with  the  purpose  of  betrayal. 

His  powers  of  discrimination  enabled  him  to 
look  down  into  the  apalling  abyss,  his  soul  recoiled 
from  the  defilement,  his  senses  shuddered  at  the 
possible  retributive  danger  he  was  about  to  incur, 
and  yet  he  had  no  more  power  to  avoid  the  peril 
than  the  frailest  storm  tossed  bark  once  caught  in 
the  eddying  circles  of  the  awful  maelstrom. 

Down,  down,  those  swirling  depths,  he  must  sink. 


110  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

All  that  day  a  dull  sense  of  horror  brooded 
over  him,  as  the  swift-rushing  hours  led  him  to 
his  fate. 

How  different  had  been  his  emotions  on  former 
occasions.  Yet  was  he  not  to  all  outward  seem- 
ing unchanged  ?  Perhaps  ;  yet  the  keen  observer 
must  have  noted  a  peculiar  expression  and  con- 
strained manner. 

As  it  was  from  the  beginning,  so  it  will  be  to 
the  end ;  time  comes  and  time  goes,  and  so  at  last 
the  ordeal  had  to  be  met. 

A  late  hour  in  the  evening  that  closed  that 
dreary  day,  found  him  once  again  in  Elsa's  pres- 
ence. 

Arid  she,  the  pitiless  one,  how  had  it  fared  with 
her?  What  had  been  her  state  of  mind  during 
the  long  watches  of  that  night  and  day  ?  Never 
had  Arachne  woven  closer  web  of  stronger  tex- 
ture, than  the  toils  in  which  she  held  her  spell- 
bound victim.  And  to  what  end? 

The  hour  of  test  was  near  at  hand.  Could  she 
succeed  through  these  means  to  establish  the 
longed-for  influence  over  Adonhiram  ?  All  else 
was  of  little  momen-t  to  her. 

A  certain  curiosity,  call  it  feminine  if  you  will, 


THE   ROYAL   AKCH.  Ill 

but  rather  a  trait  belonging  to  human  nature,  had 
been  piqued  and  gratified,  on  being  told  so  many 
secrets.  But  having  listened  to  the  story,  she 
was  no  longer  especially  interested.  In  fact,  she 
was  disappointed,  for  the  ceremonial  described, 
had  been  bare  of  picturesque  effect  to  one  of  her 
ardent  imagination. 

Compared  to  the  wild  turbulence  of  the  Zingari 
life,  to  the  free  communings  with  Nature  of  these 
children  of  to-day  without  a  morrow,  the  whole 
Masonic  fabric  of  so-called  symbolism,  dwindled 
to  small  proportions. 

"  I  am  in  a  way  sorry  to  have  heard  these  oath- 
bound  secrets,"  she  soliloquized.  "  They  are  so 
insipid.  It  is  another  illusion  destroyed. 

"  I  had  supposed  that  a  sworn  vow  of  secrecy 
concealed  the  mystical,  and  had  even  hoped  to 
get  some  hints  for  our  fortune-tellers.  They 
march,  it  is  true,  from  East  to  West,  as  in  the 
Eleusinian  mysteries,  but  they  find  no  oracle  be- 
yond. How  could  Adonhiram,  the  majestic,  the 
demigod,  force  himself  to  submit  to  such  rodo- 
montade ? 

"  Yet  why  do  I  ask  ?  Do  I  not  know  that  the 
majority  of  men  are  fools,  while  he  is  a  born 


112  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

leader  ?  Therefore  he  uses  Masonry  as  a  means 
to  an  end.  If  he  has  climbed  this  Jacob's  ladder 
to  the  topmost  rung,  what  power  has  he  not 
seized  ? 

"  It  is  ever  the  same,  humanity,  the  masses  of 
men,  bound  in  fetters  of  their  own  forging,  and 
one  Hercules  unbound  and  dominant.  The  seeth- 
ing toilers  are  hypnotized  by  the  one  strong  will 
that  rolls  ruthlessly  over  the  prostrate. 

"  Oh,  cruel  Fates,  relent  and  unite  us.  Weld 
the  Zingara  Queen,  whose  inheritance  is  to  reign, 
who  knows  naught  of  silly  sympathies,  who  only 
wills,  to  her  counterpart." 

And  as  she  thus  invoked  her  gods,  she  stood  a 
living  embodiment  of  that  will  power  that  lends 
wings  to  human  endeavor,  and  gives  it  aerial  flight. 

How  beautiful  she  was,  how  fascinating,  as  she 
received  her  hypnotized  slave  with  haughty  con- 
descension. Her  impatience  had  culminated  as 
she  awaited  his  coming,  hour  after  hour.  As  he 
entered,  she  bade  him  welcome  with  mocking  sal- 
utation. 

"  Well  done,  Sir  Knight  of  the  Royal  Arch," 
she  exclaimed.  "Tell  me  quickly,  all;  but  first 
of  #11,  was  Adonhiram  there  ?  " 


THE   BOYAL   ARCH.  113 

"  He  was,"  gasped  he. 

Poor  Miles !  physically  exhausted,  mentally 
desperate,  he  looked  more  like  a  galvanized 
corpse  than  a  living  man.  His  pallor  startled 
Elsa. 

"  My  fated  stars,"  thought  she,  "  might  free 
him  from  the  citadel  of  life,  and  leave  my  purpose 
unfulfilled." 

She  rose  hastily,  and  pouring  out  a  glass  of  cor- 
dial gave  it  with  the  suggestiveness  of  vigorous 
strength.  He  grew  strong  and  commenced  the 
story  of  the  evening. 

"  I  have  been  this  night,"  he  said,  "  exalted  to 
the  Royal  Arch. 

"•  In  all  the  preceding  steps  the  assemblies  held 
are  spoken  of  as  Lodges  ;  but  the  meetings  of  this 
degree  are  called  Chapters. 

"  The  Chapter  officers  are  nine  in  number,  and 
the  first  has  the  title  of  Most  Excellent  High 
Priest,  the  second  King,  and  so  on.  The  hall  is 
an  oblong  square,  and  can  be  divided  into  sepa- 
rate apartments  by  four  cross  curtains  or  veils ; 
and  is  intended  as  a  representation  of  the  taber- 
nacle. 

"  The  Chapter  was  opened  by  a  colloquy  as  to 
8 


114  THE   SECRET    DIRECTORY. 

the  duties  of  its  officers  and  their  respective  sta- 
tions. The  Grand  Masters  were  placed  at  the 
different  veils,  the  High  Priest  in  the  divine  Sanc- 
tum-Sanctorum, and  at  his  right  hand  the  King. 

"  There  were  banners  of  different  colors,  but 
scarlet  is  distinctively  that  of  the  Royal  Arch. 

"  Upon  opening  the  Chapter,  the  High  Priest 
directed  the  companions  to  kneel  upon  the  right 
knee  in  a  circle  round  the  Altar,  leaving  an  open- 
ing for  the  High  Priest,  the  King,  and  the  Scribe. 
The  High  Priest,  mitred  and  standing,  read  a 
chapter  of  the  New  Testament.  After  which  the 
three  took  their  places,  kneeling  in  the  circle, 
when  the  password,  Raboni,  was  whispered  from 
ear  to  ear,  and  they  all  balanced  three  times  three, 
or  nine  times.  Then  they  arose  and  in  squads  of 
three  gave  the  grand  omnific  royal  arch  word. 
This  was  done  by  placing  themselves  so  that  their 
three  right  feet,  their  three  right  hands,  and  their 
three  left  hands  each  formed  a  triangle.  They 
then  balanced  three  times  three,  pronouncing  in  a 
low  tone  three  times  each,  and  separating  the  syl- 
lables, Jah-bah-lun,  Je-ho-vah,  G-o-d. 

"  The  Chapter  was  now  declared  ready  for  busi- 
ness, and  for  the  reception  of  candidates.  There 


THE  ROYAL   ARCH.  115 

were  two  of  us,  and  we  were  prepared  by  having 
our  coats  taken  off,  our  eyes  bandaged,  and  a 
rope  coiled  seven  times  around  our  bodies,  being 
united,  and  some  three  feet  of  slack  rope  left  be- 
tween us.  After  the  usual  questioning  as  to  our 
fitness,  as  in  other  degrees,  the  password  Raboni 
was  whispered,  and  we  were  bidden  to  enter  un- 
der a  living  arch. 

"  We  were  blindfolded  and  had  to  stoop  very 
low,  as  we  had  to  pass  tied  together  under  the 
joined  hands  of  the  Assembly,  who  had  formed  in 
double  line  facing  inwards,  and  thus  created  this 
living  arch.  As  each  man  kneaded  our  necks  and 
backs  with  his  knuckles,  we  were  soon  prostrate 
on  the  floor,  and  dragged  along  by  our  ropes." 

"  Did  Adonhiram  assist  in  this  degrading  func- 
tion ?  "  asked  Elsa,  unable  longer  to  restrain  her 
impatience  in  his  regard. 

"  He  had  not  yet  arrived,"  answered  the  hyp- 
notic. 

"It  is  well,"  said  Elsa,  "go  on." 

"  This  painful  ceremony  completed,  we  were 
led  to  the  Altar  and  the  oath  administered,  which 
was  of  great  length  and  began,  *  I,  of  iny  own  free 
will  and  accord,  in  the  presence  of  Almighty  God, 


116  THE  SECRET  DIRECTORY. 

and  this  Chapter  of  Royal  Arch  Masons,  erected 
to  God  and  dedicated  to  Zerubbabel.'  The  oath 
was  more  binding  if  possible,  and  included  addi- 
tional obligations  to  any  previously  taken,  and  the 
penalty  to  have  my  skull  smote  off  and  brains  ex- 
posed to  the  scorching  rays  of  the  meridian  sun. 

"  After  taking  this  oath,  we  kissed  the  Bible 
seven  times,  and  while  prayers  were  said  we  were 
conducted  round  the  Chapter.  Then  verses  from 
the  third  chapter  of  Exodus  were  read. 

"  By  the  time  this  reading  was  finished,  we  had 
arrived  in  front  of  a  representation  of  the  burning 
bush  spoken  of  in  the  chapter  of  the  Bible  just 
read  ;  when  our  eyes  being  uncovered,  we  beheld 
the  High  Priest  behind  the  bush,  personating 
Deity.  He  called  to  us  loudly,  '  Moses,  Moses,' 
and  we,  being  prompted,  responded,  '  Here  am  I.' 
Then  the  voice  cried  vehemently :  '  Draw  not 
nigh  hither,  put  off  thy  shoes  from  off  thy  feet, 
for  the  place  whereon  thy  standest  is  holy  ground. 
I  am  the  God  of  thy  fathers,  the  God  of  Abra- 
ham, the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob.' 
Upon  which  we  were  directed  to  kneel  and  cover 
our  faces  as  if  afraid  to  look  upon  God.  After  a 
space  of  time  we  were  led  three  times  round  the 


THE   ROYAL   ARCH.  117 

hall,  during  which  the  Bible  was  read  to  us  de- 
scribing the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  While 
this  reading  was  going  on,  a  scene  of  confusion 
was  enacted,  difficult  to  describe.  There  was  an 
uproar,  a  general  shouting,  groaning,  whistling, 
stamping  of  feet,  throwing  down  benches  and 
chairs,  clashing  of  swords,  and  discharging  of  pis- 
tols, during  which  we  were  seized,  thrown  down, 
bound,  and  taken  back  into  the  preparation  room. 
Presently  we  were  hoodwinked  anew,  given  the 
password,  I  am  that  I  am,  and  reconducted  stum- 
bling over  what  was  called  '  the  rugged  road,' 
which  seemed  to  be  a  lot  of  broken  chairs  and 
logs  of  wood  thrown  upon  the  floor.  From  trav- 
ersing this  rough  road,  we  were  again  led  under 
the  living  arch,  which  was  this  time  made  so  low  and 
toilsome,  that  we  were  literally  dragged  through 
by  our  ropes.  During  this  distressing  ordeal,  the 
Scriptures  were  read  to  us  and  prayers  recited. 
Meantime  the  veils  were  hung,  and  we  were  con- 
ducted to  the  outer  veil,  our  bandages  raised,  and 
the  password,  Shem-Ham-Japhet,  given  us.  We 
proceeded  with  permission  to  the  second  veil, 
where  the  password  was  Shem-Japhet  and  Adon- 
hiram." 


118  THE    SECRET    DIRECTORY. 

"  A  flood  of  light,"  cried  Elsa.  "  His  name  is 
assumed  and  typical  ;  but  go  on." 

"  At  the  third  veil,  the  words  were  Haggai, 
Joshua,  and  Zerubbabel.  Finally  the  fourth  veil 
being  drawn  apart,  we  stood  before  the  Grand 
Council,  whom  we  saw  by  the  light  of  burning 
incense  from  an  urn  on  the  Altar.  Here  we  were 
interrogated  and  made  to  recapitulate  the  signs 
and  passwords,  from  Entered  Apprentice  up  to 
Royal  Arch  Mason,  and  furnished  our  working 
tools,  the  pick,  crow  and  shovel.  We  were  then 
led  to  a  trapdoor,  and  asked  if  we  were  willing 
to  penetrate  this  secret  vault.  Upon  my  agreeing 
to  do  so,  I  was  separated  from  my  companion,  and 
a  rope  being  coiled  seven  times  round  my  body, 
two  of  the  brethren  lowered  me  some  ten  feet, 
after  giving  me  the  instruction  to  pull  to  the  right 
whenever  I  wished  to  ascend.  I  found  three 
small  trying  squares,  and  we  repaired  with  these 
to  the  Grand  Council.  Again  we  were  conducted 
to  the  vault,  and  I  was  a  second  time  let  down, 
and  went  beyond  the  first  trapdoor,  and  at  the 
bottom  of  this  lower  vault,  I  discovered  a  small 
box  strangely  wrought.  The  air  in  this  vault  was 
close  and  noisome,  so  that  I  hastened  to  give  the 


THE   ROYAL    ARCH.  119 

signal,  and  was  immediately  drawn  out.  When  I 
presented  this  box  of  curious  device  and  golden 
top  to  the  High  Priest,  he  rapturously  cried  out 
as  if  in  great  and  glad  surprise,  '  This  is  the  Ark 
of  the  Covenant  of  God.' 

"•  Upon  raising  the  lid,  an  old  and  musty  book 
was  found,  on  seeing  which  he  exclaimed,  '  This  is 
the  book  of  the  law,  long  lost,  but  now  found. 
Holiness  to  the  Lord.'  And  there  was  also  in  the 
Ark  the  golden  pot  of  manna,  Aaron's  rod  that 
budded,  and  a  key  to  the  ineffable  characters  of 
this  degree. 

"Whereupon  comparing  with  the  key,  the  High 
Priest  read,  '  Deposited  in  the  year  three  thou- 
sand by  Solomon,  King  of  Israel,  Hiram  King  of 
Tyre,  and  Hiram-Abiff.  And  more  precious  than 
all,'  the  High  Priest  announced,  '  Here  are  the 
three  mysterious  words  placed  in  triangular  form, 
viz :  the  name  of  God  in  Chaldaic,  Hebrew  and 
Syriac,  which  is  our  grand  omnific  royal  arch  word.' 

"  The  Chapter  gathered  round  the  Altar,  in- 
tently considering  the  significance  of  this  mystic 
cipher,  and  I  was  still  standing  near  the  High 
Priest,  having  just  presented  him  the  Ark,  when  I 
noticed  an  expression  of  glad  surprise  in  the  faces 


120  THE  SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

of  those  about  me,  as  a  susurrant  murmuring 
filled  the  hall,  then  there  was  a  surcease  of  sound, 
and  the  Chapter  quickly  formed  in  a  long  double 
line,  leaving  the  High  Priest  and  King  standing 
together  at  the  foot  of  the  Altar.  I  was  so  hur- 
riedly pushed  back  into  my  proper  place,  that  for 
a  moment  I  was  bewildered,  but  almost  at  once  I 
perceived  why  this  silent  homage  was  rendered,  as 
I  beheld  the  kingly  Adonhiram,  with  solemn  regal 
mien,  pass  onward  to  the  Altar.  He  was  deco- 
,  rated  as  a  Prince  of  Jerusalem,  and  wore  a  broad 
white  ribbon  bordered  with  black  in  a  triangular 
form,  and  an  ivory  key  therefrom  suspended,  with 
the  figure  Z  upon  it.  His  immense  stature,  noble 
proportions,  stately  bearing,  and  piercing  regard 
made  his  presence  felt.  He  bowed,  facing  the 
Altar,  to  the  High  Priest  and  the  King,  then  turn- 
ing around  saluted  the  Chapter  with  graceful 
courtesy.  The  High  Priest  accosted  him  with 
reverential  words  of  welcome,  giving  him  the 
title  of  Right  Worshipful  Grand  Elect  Perfect 
and  Sublime  Master.  Then  he  was  enthroned." 

At  this  recital,  Elsa's  eyes  blazed  like  fiery 
meteors,  and  she  laughed  aloud  with  a  wild  out- 
burst of  joy,, 


THE   ROYAL   ARCH.  121 

"  I  knew  it,"  she  said,  "  these  titles  are  his  by 
right,  and  more.  He  is  King  of  Kings.  You 
speak  well,  Miles  Standish.  Proceed." 

And  he  continued,  "Upon  being  requested  by 
the  High  Priest  to  address  the  Chapter,  he  rose 
and  gave  a  discourse  of  much  subtle  force, 
oratorical  eloquence,  and  mystical  wisdom." 

"  Tell  me  every  word,"  urged  Elsa. 

"  I  could  scarce  forget  it,"  answered  he. 
"  Adonhiram  said,  '  Most  Excellent  Companions, 
and  Brother  Masons  of  the  Royal  Arch,  I  am  in- 
deed fortunate  to  be  united  to  this  Chapter  in 
America,  by  the  ancient  and  mystic  fraternal  ties. 
It  were  needless  to  recapitulate  to  this  Assembly 
the  history  of  Masonry.  We  are  of  all  Time. 
We  are  of  those  descend;! nts  of  Noah,  who  erected 
the  temple  of  Belus  on  the  plains  of  Sennam. 
Even  the  mighty  Phaleg  was  our  first  architect. 
The  pagans  knew  us  as  Titans  in  those  ancient 
days  ;  and  we  were  of  Babylon,  and  ages  later  of 
Solomon's  Temple  ;  of  our  first  Master,  Adon- 
hiram of  Mount  Libanus  ;  then  of  the  Crusades ; 
and  as  the  centuries  looked  down  upon  us,  we 
were  of  Frederic  of  Prussia,  and  the  French 
Revolution. 


122  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

"  Verily,  we  are  of  that  temple  not  made  with 
hands,  for  our  essence  is  symbolism  of  hidden 
form.  Our  foundation  stone  is  well  laid  upon  the 
moral  law  of  God  and  human  rights.  Brothers 
and  Companions,  let  us  ever  make  it  our  aim  to 
inculcate  friendship,  morality,  brotherly  love  and 
charity.  In  order  to  do  this  effectively  we  must 
conform  to  our  rule.  The  real  craftsmen  must  be 
vigilant,  and  administer  discipline  judiciously. 
Having  been  duly  raised  through  the  suffrages  of 
the  order  to  the  Supereminent  Degree,  I  am 
familiar  with  the  occultism  of  the  Oriental  rites 
and  with  all  Masonic  hieroglyphics.  It  is  my 
province  to  see  that  the  ancient  landmarks  shall 
be  restored,  and  no  innovations  permitted,  or 
Masonic  emblems  improperly  classified.  It  is  a 
part  of  my  mission  to  establish  between  Europe 
and  America,  between  the  North  and  the  South, 
the  East  and  the  West,  a  uniform  standard. 

"  Freemasonry  must  sooner  or  later,  absorb  and 
direct  all  philosophies,  thrones,  nations,  and 
churches.  Above  all,  the  arrogant  See  of  St. 
Peter  must  be  humbled,  the  dogmatism  of  Rome 
succumb.  The  force  of  events  is  on  our  side  ;  for 
our  ranks,  serried,  compact  and  oath-bound,  can- 


THE    ROYAL    ARCH.  123 

not  be  overcome.  Like  the  hidden  Octopus,  we 
must  seize  everything  that  obstructs  our  path ; 
and  not  known  till  we  are  felt,  once  in  possession 
never  relax  our  grasp.  Our  rule  must  cover  the 
earth.  In  Asia  we  hold  the  fabled  lore  of  Egypt, 
and  must  dominate  through  superstition.  In 
Europe  we  must  foster  a  revolutionary  spirit,  and 
wield  the  masses  as  we  have  done,  through  our 
intrigues.  And  in  America  we  cannot  fail  to  gain 
an  overmastering  influence  through  the  balance  of 
power.  The  ramifications  of  American  politics 
always  tend  to  culminate  in  the  one  man  rule  or 
the  election  of  a  President.  This  is  our  opportu- 
nity in  the  United  States,  through  unity  and 
secrecy,  to  control  the  elective  franchise. 

"'I  must  soon  leave  America,  for  I  am  once 
again  needed  in  Europe,  where  we  expect  at  a 
near  day  to  rally  to  our  standard  various  disturb- 
ing elements  that  require  cohesion.  My  mission 
here  as  there,  is  to  bring  about  the  solidarity  of 
humanity  through  Masonry.' " 

Scarcely  had  these  utterances  of  the  hypnotized 
man  been  given,  and  Elsa  too  absorbed  to  have 
caught  other  sounds,  when  the  door  was  opened 
and  Adonhjram  entered. 


124  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

Elsa  sprang  to  her  feet  with  the  startled  cry, 
"  Adonhiram ! " 

"  Zingara,"  said  he  scornfully,  "  I  know  you 
well.  Beware.  Unchain  the  electrical  forces 
through  which  you  have  bound  this  man. 
Through  the  Pythian  and  Egyptian  lore  that  we 
hold  in  common,  I  know  the  hypnotism  of  India 
when  I  meet  it.  And  I  knew  this  night,  when  I 
beheld  this  subject  in  the  Chapter  of  the  Royal 
Arch,  that  my  Brother  was  held  in  damnable 
chains.  I  have  sought  him  and  found  him.  Zin- 
gara, reverse  your  passes,  and  set  him  free." 

"Adonhiram,"  said  Elsa,  in  pleading  tones, 
"  your  sudden  coming  unnerved  me  ;  and,  and 
your  coming  at  all,  as  you  well  know,  is  much  to 
me.  You  ask  for  my  slave  whom  I  have  bought 
with  a  price.  What  ransom,  what  guerdon  do 
you  offer  me  ?  " 

"  The  reward  of  virtue,  which  is  its  own  re- 
ward," he  replied. 

"  Not  so,  Adonhiram,"  said  Elsa.  "  Mock  me 
not  with  empty  words.  Ask  your  dual  self  what 
is  it  you  seek.  Look  in  the  mirror  of  your  soul,  and 
you  will  find  there  enthroned,  Ambition.  Give  in 
my  keeping  your  other  self,  and  he  is  yours." 


THE   ROYAL   ARCH.  125 

"Neither  yours  nor  mine,  Zingara,"  he  said, 
"but  he  must  be  his  own.  Restore  him  to  him- 
self, or  so  help  me  God,  I  hold  no  commerce  of 
speech  with  you.  Until  this  act  of  justice  is  done, 
you  shall  be  anathema  to  me ; "  and  he  stood  in 
wrath,  as  frigid  as  an  adamantine  pillar. 

"  Cruel,  most  cruel,"  sobbed  Elsa  in  a  passion 
of  tears.  "  Would  that  I  could  hate  you.  And 
yet  what  is  this  you  ask,  to  me  ?  I  have  gained 
my  ends.  Adonhiram,  I  know  your  secrets.  You 
cannot  do  without  me."  And  approaching  the 
hypnotized  subject,  she  reversed  her  passes,  say- 
ing as  she  did  so,  "  Miles  Standish,  I,  Elsa  Zigi, 
restore  you  your  will.  Go  forth  a  free  man." 

And  Adonhiram  kindly  taking  him  by  the  hand, 
said,  "  Go  forth  from  hence  quickly,  Brother. 
You  are  your  own  master.  Thank  God." 

The  sudden  exit  of  Miles  Standish  liberated, 
was  scarcely  noticed  by  Elsa,  as  she  turned  to 
Adonhiram  with  the  chiding  words,  "  Thank  not 
God,  ingrate,  thank  me." 

"  Elsa  Zigi,"  he  answered,  "  pity  'tis,  you  are 
not  good,  for  you  are  gifted." 

And  she  replied,  "  I  am  but  as  yon  are,  Adon- 
hiram. We  are  mated.  Turn  from  the  fact  as 


126  THE  SECRET  DIRECTORY. 

you  will.  It  is  our  destiny  to  reign  together  or  to 
fall  together.  Shall  it  be  earth  made  Paradise,  or 
Hell  ?  A  loveless  ambition  is  your  God.  Ambi- 
tion with  love  is  mine." 

AdonhiraiB  was  strangely  moved.  This  woman 
repelled  him,  and  yet  drew  him  toward  her. 
She  was  for  him  an  accusing  evil  angel,  that  held 
the  mirror  of  his  unhallowed  greed  for  power  be- 
fore him,  as  none  other  had  dared  to  do.  Yet 
seeking  to  estrange  her  from  himself,  he  asked, 
"Loves  not  the  Zingara  her  own  race?  Let 
endeavor  turn  to  them." 

"  My  race,  Adonhiram,"  she  answered  with 
flashing  eyes  and  cheeks  aflame,  "  is  my  life.  My 
destiny,  as  Queen  of  my  people,  is  one  with  theirs. 
How  I  love  to  recall  our  history.  We  are,  as  are 
you  Masons,  of  all  days,  of  all  times.  From  the 
tribes  assembled  by  my  ancestor  Duke  Andrew  in 
1417  ;  from  the  Uxii  who  roamed  the  perfumed 
plains  of  Persia;  from  the  dreamy  Hindustanee, 
the  neglected  Sudas  ;  from  those  who  retreated 
out  of  India  after  the  devastations  of  Timur  Beg ; 
from  those  who  formed  the  scattered  remnants  of 
the  Troglodytes,  those  Theban  rock-dwellers; 
from  all  these  gathering  sources  we  come. 


THE  ROYAL  ARCH.  127 

"Ah,  the  weird  and  mystic  race,"  she  sighed, 
clasping  her  jewelled  hands  in  revery.  "  The 
blessed  foster  children  of  Nature,  who  dwell  the 
nearest  of  all  to  her  bosom.  I  love  to  picture 
them  as  they  are  ;  tawny,  sunburnt  from  contact 
with  the  elements  ;  with  hunting  dogs  of  keenest 
scent  that  are  little  less  than  human  ;  with  im- 
petuous, revengeful  moods,  that  sweep  away  like 
mountain  torrents  the  smooth  worn  channels  of 
civilization  ;  with  mystifying  palmistry  to  divine 
the  fate  and  trouble  the  peace  of  mind  of  the  un- 
wary ;  with  soothsaying  to  read  temperament  and 
disposition;  with  simulacra  of  corporeal  things  to 
assault  the  soul  in  sleep;  with  forbidden  dealings 
of  psychomancy  that  call  up  the  shades  of  the 
dead  ;  what  people  are  like  unto  my  people  ? 
Among  the  lower  types  of  men,  ecstasies  may 
come  at  the  hour  of  death.  But  we  have  the 
faculty  to  steep  the  soul  in  intoxicating  fumes, 
that  it  mistakes  for  idealisms  and  visions. 

"  Come,  come,  and  share  my  power,  Adonhiram. 
You  cannot  escape  me  if  you  would.  I  have  your 
secrets.  As  an  enemy  I  could  expose  you  to  the 
world." 

Adonhiram   had   listened    with   unfeigned   ad- 


128  THE  SECRET  DIRECTORY. 

miration  to  this  vindication  of  her  race ;  but  lie 
could  not  brook  her  apparent  threat  and  he  coldly 
made  answer,  "  No  one  would  believe  you.  You 
would  be  immured  as  a  lunatic.  Think  not  that 
Masonry  can  be  weakened  by  aught  the  Zingari 
can  say.  No  human  power  can  break  the  strength 
of  an  oath-bound  order.  Think  not  to  harm  us, 
but  lead  your  tribes  into  the  universal  Brother- 
hood we  seek.  Give  up  the  traditions  that  have 
led  you  as  a  race  apart,  like  a  Gospel  of  hate." 

"  Speak  not  to  me  of  hate,''  she  cried.  "  Why 
not  hate?  Banished  in  turn  from  Spain,  France, 
Italy,  England,  Denmark,  Sweden,  the  Nether- 
lands, Holland  and  Germany  ;  untouched  alone  by 
edict  of  ostracism  in  America,  and  even  here 
shunned.  But  what  is  our  domain  ?  It  is 
revenge.  Our  oppressors  fear  us.  They  dread 
our  incantations,  our  prophecies,  our  auspices, 
oracles,  horoscopes  and  manifold  curses.  And 
they  have  reason.  For  hold  we  not  of  Mother 
Earth,  her  secrets  hidden  to  the  grosser  mortals  ? 
Do  we  not  know  how  to  find  prophetic  power 
in  certain  exhalations  of  the  cavernous  recesses,  as 
did  the  Delphic  oracles  of  old  ?  These  were  si- 
lenced ;  but  we,  never." 


THE   ROYAL   ARCH.  129 

"  Elsa  Zigi,"  said  the  Mason,  "  there  is  much  to 
think  of  in  all  this.  Oar  order  and  your  mythical 
traditions  have  more  in  common  than  I  had 
dreamed  of." 

So  saying,  and  without  word  of  parting,  Adon- 
hirain  went  away. 

"A  mountain   of  ice,"  murmured   Elsa;  "but 
the  ardent  sun  overcomes  the  frigid.     Would  he 
but  love  rue,  then,  I  could  hate  him  as  being  like 
other  men." 
9 


130  THE  SECRET   DIRECTORY. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SEQUENCES    OF    HYPNOTISM. 

MILES  STANDISH  had  only  been  under  the 
hypnotic  influence  somewhat  over  two  days,  yet 
so  true  is  it.  that  time  has  a  relative  value  as 
measured  by  events,  that  the  occurrences  of  that 
short  period  had  formed  an  epoch  in  his  life.  The 
baneful  power  that  had  held  his  will  in  bonds  had 
been  removed,  and  he  was  once  more  a  free  agent. 
What  impression  did  he  retain  of  that  which  had 
taken  place  as  connected  with  this  peculiar 
cerebral  condition  ?  • 

As  a  pathological  effect  of  this  strained  and 
morbid  state,  his  memory  in  relation  to  these 
events  was  a  blank.  As  to  other  occurrences 
where  his  will  had  been  left  free  by  Elsa,  he  could 
distinctly  recall  what  he  had  done.  The  result  of 
this  imperfect  function,  was  a  painful  sense  of  in- 
consequence, as  at  every  step,  he  was  arrested  by 
this  limitation. 

He  could  not  for  instance,  remember  why  he  had 


SEQUENCES    OF    HYPNOTISM.  131 

broken  his  engagement  to  meet  Grace,  nor  recall 
what  had  actually  transpired  at  that  hour,  because 
when  he  came  to  that  point  in  his  recollections 
when  Elsa  had  assumed  hypnotic  control,  the 
sequence  of  his  actions  was  lost. 

Memory  is  the  link  that  interchains  the  suc- 
cession of  events,  and  where  it  fails  to  give  co- 
herence, there  is  confusion.  We  stand  in  a  dark 
room,  all  the  objects  with  which  we  are  familiar 
surround  us,  but  light  being  withdrawn,  we  fail  to 
discriminate.  So  hypnotism  is  mental  darkness. 
That  which  transpires  while  under  this  influence, 
remains  invisible  to  our  apprehension. 

The  next  morning  after  his  release  from  this 
enthrallment,  as  he  paced  his  room  in  much  agita- 
tion, trying  in  a  dazed  way  to  recall  what  his 
thoughts  and  actions  had  been,  he  was  startled  by 
the  entrance  of  Adonhiram,  who  came  into  his 
room  very  quietly  and  unannounced,  except  by  a 
tap  at  his  door. 

At  first  he  drew  back  rather  frigidly  at  the  un- 
expected interruption,  but  almost  instantly  re- 
membered the  moments  succeeding  the  reversal  of 
the  hypnotic  passes  by  Elsa,  when  he  felt  sure 
this  man  had  been  his  friend.  Yet  his  thoughts 


132  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

were  so  confused  on  the  subject,  that  he  could 
only  extend  his  hand  and  say  in  a  constrained 
way,  "Captain  Adonhirain,  I  am  vaguely  con- 
scious that  you  have  befriended  me,  although 
strange  to  say,  I  scarcely  know  for  what  I  am 
grateful,  although  a  sentiment  of.  gratitude  in- 
spires me  to  thank  you." 

Adonhirain  smiled  as  he  said,  "  Your  perplexity 
is  quite  natural.  I  found  you  a  subject  of  the 
hypnotic  influence  of  Elsa  Zigi,  who  thought  to 
use  you  for  purposes  of  her  own.  In  fact,  she 
seems  to  have  done  so,  as  she  tells  me  that 
through  you,  the  secrets  of  Masonry  have  been 
made  known  to  her." 

Adonhirain  spoke  with  slow  precision,  scrutiniz- 
ing closely  as  he  did  so,  the  effect  upon  Miles 
Standish. 

"  Impossible,"  exclaimed  the  accused  man,  with 
a  pained  and  bewildered  look.  "  I  am  incapable 
of  so  base  an  act." 

"  I  quite  believe  you,"  he  replied,  frankly  giv- 
ing him  his  hand.  "  You  have  been  ensnared  and 
betrayed,  but  the  only  fault  you  have  committed, 
was  the  weakness  of  subjecting  yourself  to  the 
will  of  another." 


SEQUENCES   OP   HYPNOTISM.  133 

"  I  was  an  idiot,"  said  Standish,  "  I  remember 
distinctly  that  I  gave  this  woman  permission  to 
hypnotize  me,  because  I  felt  quite  sure  of  myself. 
But  what  dazes  me  is  this,  that  after  giving  my 
consent,  I  really  do  not  know  what  happened. 
As  to  my  betrayal  of  an  oath,  it  is  too  monstrous 
for  credence.  What  do  you  know  about  it  ?  " 

"  I  would  first  remind  you,"  answered  the  Mas- 
ter Mason,  "  of  the  Chapter  held  last  evening." 

"  I  was  not  there,"  said  Standish.  "  I  only  at- 
tend the  Lodges,  and  not  having  as  }*et  received 
the  Royal  Arch,  I  could  not  have  been  present." 

"  It  is  precisely  as  I  thought,"  replied  he. 
"  You  have  been  in  the  hypnotic  trance,  and 
while  in  this  state  you  were  initiated  in  the  Royal 
Arch." 

"  Who  informed  you?"  asked  Standish,  in  turn, 
sharply  eyeing  his  interlocutor. 

"  I  met  you  there,"  said  Adonhiram,  "  and  I 
felt  sure  when  I  observed  you,  that  you  were  irre- 
sponsible. After  the  Chapter  was  closed,  I  sought 
yon  as  quickl}7  as  I  could  get  away,  and  I  found 
you  in  the  presence  of  this  adept  in  the  art,  in  a 
deep  hypnotic  trance,  responding  to  her  every 
suggestion." 


134  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

"  God  forbid,"  cried  Standish,  shuddering. 

"  Instantly  divining  your  desperate  peril,"  con- 
tinued his  friend,  "  I  was  so  fortunate  as  to  in- 
duce your  enslaver  to  set  you  free." 

"  Can  it  be  ? "  murmured  Standish,  as  if  in 
doubt  of  everything.  "  Yes,  I  left  you  there, 
Adonhiram.  I  remember  going  away,  but  I  can- 
not understand  why  I  went  to  see  Elsa  Zigi  at 
all." 

"  Naturally,"  replied  he.  "  Bear  in  mind, 
Standish,  that  your  memoiy  is  at  fault  as  to  what- 
ever affected  you  hypnotically." 

"  But  what  of  the  painful  accusation  ?  "  asked 
he,  passing  his  hand  over  his  forehead,  as  if  to 
brush  away  the  cobweb  meshes  of  confusion. 
"Let  us  go  together  and  confront  this  woman. 
She  must  be  made  to  withdraw  such  a  statement. 
I  can  not  suffer  under  this  imputation  ;  no,  not  for 
one  hour."  And  Standish  rose  as  if  to  leave  at 
once. 

"  We  will  do  nothing  of  the  sort,"  said  Adon- 
hiram careless!}',  and  seating  himself  in  an  arm- 
chair, he  added,  "  I  beg  your  pardon,  Standish, 
but  I  scarcely  find  you  an  attentive  host,  to  keep 
a  man  standing  all  this  while." 


SEQUENCES   OF    HYPNOTISM.  135 

"  But,"  said  Standish,  who  was  now  thoroughly 
aroused,  "  I  must  insist  upon  knowing  what  it  all 
means.  I  can  not  endure  even  the  momentary 
suspicion." 

"  Well,"  said  Adonhiram,  "  I  had  thought  to 
spare  you  as  much  as  possible,  but  if  you  will 
have  it  so,  it  is  evident  that  when  you  were  hyp- 
notized you  responded  to  all  the  suggestions  of 
your  hypnotizer.  But  rest  at  ease,  for  no  one 
knows  anything  of  this  but  we  three.  I  exoner- 
ate you  from  any  motive  of  wrongdoing,  and  as 
the  only  object  sought  for,  in  using  you  as  an  in- 
strument, was  to  implicate  me  as  a  Mason,  the  en- 
tire plot  fails." 

"Except  with  this  result,"  said  Standish,  "that 
I  shall  ever  henceforward,  and  forever,  eschew 
and  forswear,  every  phase  of  hypnotism." 

"You  have  indeed,"  said  Adonhiram,  "passed 
through  a  great  danger ;  you  have  been  in  one  of 
life's  terrible  battles  and  survived." 

"  With  the  deepest  gratitude,"  said  Standish, 
"for  your  generous  aid.  But,"  added  he  hesitat- 
ing, "there  still  remains  another  trouble." 

"What  is  it?"  asked  his  friend. 

"  I  cannot  put  things  together  coherently,  but 


136  THE  SECRET  DIRECTORY. 

in  some  way,  by  some  fatality  I  have  failed  to 
meet  an  engagement  with  Miss  Bellamy.  I  am 
confident  that  unpleasant  complications  have 
arisen,  but  I  cannot  grasp  the  situation,  and  know 
how  to  correct  the  misunderstanding." 

"  Is  this  a  matter  of  special  importance  to 
you?"  inquired  Adonhiram,  with  more  than  pass- 
ing interest. 

"Of  the  very  greatest  importance,"  Standish 
earnestly  exclaimed.  "  You  have  been  more  than 
a  friend  to  me,  you  have  saved  me ;  and  I  may 
say  to  you  sacredly,  I  love  this  woman." 

"  And  she  ?  "  asked  Adonhiram  deeply  moved. 

"  Is  not  indifferent  to  me." 

It  was  a  strange  dull  pain,  that  struck  the  heart 
of  this  strong  man,  on  hearing  this  avowal.  He 
had  not  thought  it  possible  that  he  could  care  for 
any  woman.  He  knew  that  Grace  Bellamy  was 
indifferent  to  his  affection,  }*et  he  felt  that  she 
could  in  a  way,  at  least  understand  him.  To  be 
comprehended,  meant  so  much  for  him,  for  he 
stood  apart  among  men,  and  was  alone.  What 
was  it  he  so  craved  ?  Companionship.  Elsa  Zigi 
repelled  him.  He  admired  her  genius  for  in- 
trigue, and  knew  too,  how  useful  in  conspiracies 


SEQUENCES   OF   HYPNOTISM.  137 

it  could  be  made.  Nor  wivs  he  altogether  un- 
moved by  the  turbulence  of  her  passion  for  him. 
But  it  was  one  of  the  strong  traits  of  his  nature, 
that  he  could  measure  the  force  of  temptation, 
and  be  able  to  resist  it.  He  conquered,  not  be- 
cause he  was  indifferent,  but  because  he  had  self- 
control.  Yet  he  had  his  being  among  conspira- 
cies, and  therefore  plots  and  plans  carried  into  his 
home  life,  had  he  ever  thought  of  such  a  haven, 
would  have  wearied  him.  That  which  had  at- 
tracted him  in  Grace  was  her  singular  candor,  her 
intelligence  arid  straightforward  uprightness.  In 
her  society  he  could  have  found,  in  the  intervals 
of  a  stormy  career,  that  peace  and  repose  that 
gives  strength  to  renew  combat. 

"Yet,"  thought  he,  "what  utter  selfishness, 
even  to  wish  to  attach  to  my  uncertain  fate,  one 
who  could  give  me  so  much  I  need,  but  upon 
whom,  I  could  never  confer  real  happiness.  Nor 
indeed  a  real  name.  It  is  best  as  it  is,  and  were 
it  otherwise,  I  can  never  be  faithless  to  a  trust,  a 
confidence." 

During  these  moments  of  conflicting  emotions 
Adonhiram  had  given  no  outward  sign  of  the  per- 
turbation he  experienced,  but  rather  seemed  to  be 


138  THE   SECRET    DIRECTORY. 

in  a  calm  revery.  Thought  spans  time  with  in- 
credible swiftness.  A  man  falls  from  a  height, 
and  in  the  act  of  falling,  in  the  second  of  space 
during  which  he  is  meeting  his  doom,  the  joys, 
sorrows,  sins  of  a  lifetime  stand  before  him.  So 
this  strong  man,  subduing  himself  with  the  effort 
of  a  brave  will  and  a  true  intention  to  help  a 
brother  in  need,  inquired,  "  What  is  this  compli- 
cation ?  " 

"My  strange  trouble  is  this,"  explained  Stand  - 
ish,  "  that  I  can  not  put  things  together  right.  It 
is  enough  to  set  a  man  crazy  where  his  dearest  in- 
terests are  at  stake." 

"Never  mind  the  sentiment,"  said  Adonhiram 
drily.  "Tell  me  the  facts  as  straight  as  you  can." 

Standish  reddened,  then  bethought  himself  of 
the  debt  of  gratitude  due  this  man,  and  said : 
"All  I  know  is,  that  Miss  Bellani}7  in  reply  to  a 
note  of  mine,  asking  her  if  she  would  kindly  men- 
tion a  time  when  I  could  call,  wrote  me  that  in 
consequence  of  her  mother's  illness,  they  expected 
to  leave  town  that  day,  but  that  she  would  see  me 
at  two  o'clock.  What  followed  I  cannot  recall, 
but  I  fear  that  I  must  have  gone  to  see  Elsa  Zigi 
at  that  hour." 


SEQUENCES   OF   HYPNOTISM.  139 

"  That  is  unfortunate,"  remarked  Adonhiram. 
"  Where  did  Miss  Bellamy  go  ?  " 

"  That  I  do  not  know,"  groaned  Standish. 

"  Have  yon  no  means  of  finding  out? " 

"  The  house  is  closed,"  replied  Standish,  "  and 
the}r  have  evidently  left  town  for  the  season.  I 
am  sure  that  I  have  failed  in  some  way,  and  I 
may  not  be  forgiven." 

"  I  will  see  what  can  be  done,"  said  Adonhiram 
kindly,  "  but  meantime  I  must  beg  you  to  stay  in 
your  room  to-day,  and  above  all  seek  no  interview 
from  Elsa  Zigi  until  you  hear  from  me.  I  will 
let  you  know  the  moment  I  succeed,  so  possess 
your  soul  in  peace." 

And  with  this  parting  admonition  he  went  away. 

Adonhiram  was  quite  sure  that  Elsa  could  un- 
ravel this  mystery,  and  although  he  had  not  in- 
tended to  trust  himself  in  her  presence  again,  he 
generously  decided  to  incur  the  risk  for  a  good 
purpose.  It  was  scarcely  high  noon,  and  an  early 
hour  for  a  visit,  when  he  alighted  from  a  carriage 
at  Elsa's  door. 

At  that  very  moment  she  was  interviewing  a 
swarthy  Bohemian,  whom  she  employed  as  an 
adroit  and  trained  detective,  to  report  to  her  the 


140  THE    SECRET    DIRECTORY. 

movements  of  Adonhiram.  The  day  was  hot,  as 
June  days  are  apt  to  be  in  Washington,  and  she 
was  seated  near  the  closed  Venetian  of  an  open 
casement,  as  the  carriage  stopped  at  her  door. 

Bochsa  had  just  told  her  that  an  hour  ago, 
Adonhiram  was  with  Standish,  and  she  was  chid- 
ing him  for  not  waiting  till  he  went  elsewhere, 
when  to  her  amazement  she  saw  him  arrive. 

Silently  dismissing  her  agent,  by  pointing  to  a 
side  door  whence  he  retreated,  she  drew  around 
her  in  graceful  folds  a  lace  scarf  that  somewhat 
confined  the  flowing  amplitude  of  her  morning 
gown,  and  advanced  to  meet  her  welcome  visitor. 
Her  heart  fluttered  with  the  pleasing  excitement, 
as  she  exclaimed,  "  What  an  unexpected  pleas. 
lire." 

"You  are  indulgent,"  he  said,  "not  to  find  the 
hour  most  untimely,  but  I  feared  that  much  delay 
might  bring  me  disappointment.  Society  seems 
to  make  its  flitting  now/' 

"  Truly,"  said  Elsa,  "it  is  well  to  seek  change 
of  air,  and  almost  every  one  has  left  town." 

"  Ah,  indeed,"  said  Adonhiram  indifferently, 
"  pray  who  have  gone,  and  who  remain  ?  " 

Elsa   always   mistrusted   a  direct  question,  and 


SEQUENCES    OF    HYPNOTISM.  141 

evasively  asked  with  a  smile,  "  Do  you  know  what 
are  the  plans  of  Mr.  Standish  ?  " 

"  Scarcely,"  he  answered  gravely.  "  I  saw  him 
a  moment  this  morning.  I  fancy  he  will  prefer  to 
wait  and  find  out  where  and  when  Miss  Bellamy 
goes." 

Elsa  laughed  outright.  "  Grace  Bellamy  has 
left  town  with  her  sick  mother,"  she  said,  "  but  I 
happen  to  know  that  she  will  not  care  to  meet  Mr. 
Standish." 

A  flash  of  hope  gave  a  quickened  heart  throb, 
but  was  as  quickly  repressed  by  the  strong  will  of 
this  man.  He  had  promised  himself  not  to  yield 
to  self-interest  and  he  remained  firm. 

"  You  are  a  real  Sibyl,"  he  said.  "  One  who 
divines  the  unknown.  Did  you  read  their  for- 
tunes, subtle  enchantress?" 

"  No,  but  I  marred  them,"  she  said  exultingly, 
unable  to  refrain  from  boasting  of  her  skill  to  this 
man,  whom  she  judged  by  herself  as  one  given  to 
shrewd  designs. 

"  I  doubt  it  not,"  he  assented.  "  It  was  the 
witchery  of  a  spell." 

"  What  men  might  deem  a  conspiracy,"  she 
gleefully  answered. 


142  THE   SECRET    DIRECTORY. 

"A  good  plot  is  well  worth  the  telling,"  he  sug- 
gested. 

"And  you  shall  hear  it,"  was  the  gratified  re- 
ply. "As  you  know  I  had  hypnotized  this  man  ; 
although  at  your  behest,  O  tyrant  of  tyrants,  I  let 
him  go  free.  But  that  is  neither  here  nor  there. 
It  was  amusing.  I  held  him  in  leash  as  a  cat 
might  do  when  she  plays  with  a  mouse.  I  let  him 
run  a  little  way,  and  then  I  pulled  him  in  again 
tight.  It  was  rare  sport.  See,  cruel  man,  what  a 
sacrifice  I  made  at  your  bidding." 

"  One  which  I  appreciate  to  the  full  extent,"  he 
said  with  a  slight  inclination  of  his  head. 

"  You  know,  Perfect  and  Sublime  Master,"  she 
continued,  "  that  when  one  is  brewing  a  plot  it 
thickens.  Set  the  fire  going,  swing  the  kettle  on 
the  tripod  over  the  coals,  and  the  water  boils. 
One  has  merely  to  look  on,  and  the  elements  do 
the  rest." 

"  I  have  seen  it  well  done  in  Zingari  camps,"  he 
said. 

"  Naughty  man,"  she  said  chidingly,  "  I  have 
half  a  mind  not  to  tell  you." 

"  In  that  case  you  would  punish  yourself,  which 
would  pain  me." 


SEQUENCES    OP    HYPNOTISM.  143 

"Delightful.  I  will  go  on.  You  shall  suffer  no 
pain  that  Elsa  can  prevent.  It  so  happened  that 
I  sent  for  Standish  to  come  to  me  at  two  o'clock, 
and  of  course  he  had  to  obey.  But  he  begged  me 
to  permit  him  to  meet  an  engagement  at  that  very 
hour  with  Grace  Bellamy.  He  even  admitted  to 
me  as  a  reason  why  I  should  be  lenient,  that  he 
loved  the  girl,  and  more  than  this,  that  they  loved 
each  other.  Adonhiram,"  she  cried  with  an  irre- 
sistible passionate  outburst,  "  I  must  make  an 
open  confession.  How  could  I  endure  to  see  these 
lovers  happy,  and — and — you  so  cruel  cold,  to  me. 
It  was  all  your  fault." 

"  The  devil's  fault,"  thought  he  with  a  sheer 
loathing  of  her  moral  deformity,  allied  to  a  lan- 
guorous stir  of  the  senses  that  caused  him  affright. 

"  Elsa,"  he  expostulated,  "  upbraid  me  not. 
This  is  the  story  of  two  lovers." 

"  No  longer  lovers,"  she  cried.  "  I  kept  the 
drivelling  boy  in  chains,  and  I  met  his  engage- 
ment. I  was  there  just  in  time  to  see  her  depart 
for  Berkeley  with  her  mother,  and  to  let  her  know 
of  his  visit  to  me  at  that  very  hour." 

"And  you  did  this  thing,  Elsa  Zigi,"  said  he,  at 
once  rising  and  holding  himself  erect. 


144  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

Elsa  saw  her  mistake.  "  Assuredly,"  she  said, 
"  for  a  passing  trial  of  their  faith.  Was  it  not 
well  done  ?  " 

"  To  do  evil  that  good  may  come,"  he  said. 
"  It  was  strangely  clever.  But  where  do  you  go  ?  " 
he  asked,  changing  the  subject,  for  he  had  now 
gained  the  exact  information  he  needed.  He  now 
understood  the  diabolism  of  the  estrangement,  and 
could  make  the  clear  connection  of  events  that 
Standish  was  unable  to  unravel ;  and  most  im- 
portant of  all,  he  had  now  learned  where  Grace 
Bellamy  had  gone. 

"  I  scarcely  know  as  yet,"  said  Elsa,  "  where  I 
shall  go.  I  have  no  plans.  What  are  yours?  " 

"  I  must  shortly  leave  for  Europe,"  he  replied. 
"•  My  departure  is  at  best  but  a  matter  of  days." 

"  What  place,"  she  inquired,  scarcely  restrain- 
ing her  agitation. 

"  Probably  Rome,"  he  replied.  "  Pilgrims  wend 
their  way  to  St.  Peter's  you  know." 

"  And  some  are  blessed  while  others  are  anath- 
ema," she  replied  derisively. 

"Elsa  Zigi,"  he  remonstrated,  "gifted  women 
should  carry  healing,  not  curses,  on  their  wings." 


SEQUENCES  OF  HYPNOTISM.  145 

And  so  saying  without  word  of  parting,  he  went 
away. 

"How  fiercely  I  could  hate  him,"  she  moaned 
with  clenched  hands  interlocked,  "  were  this  tor- 
ture of  his  indifference  at  an  end." 

An  hour  later,  a  note  was  handed  Standish  from 
his  friend  which  read  :  "  Await  my  coming  in  a 
day  or  two.  All  goes  well." 

Adonhiram  always  made  action  wait  upon  re- 
solve, and  that  evening  found  him  at  Berkeley. 

The  old  hotel  of  these  once  famous  baths  is 
surrounded  by  a  pleasant  grove  through  which 
flows  the  limpid  waters  of  a  pretty  brook,  while 
the  overhanging,  densely -wooded  hillside  makes 
a  leafy  screen  that  protects  the  spot  from  the  too- 
ardent  sun  rays,  and  in  the  glinting  moonlight 
there  are  mystic  shadows  and  faint  outlines. 

Mrs.  Bellamy  already  felt  the  restorative  effect 
of  these  incomparable  baths,  whose  etherial  light- 
ness produces  with  the  bather  a  curious  incorpo- 
real feeling,  as  if  floating  in  mid  air.  They  had 
not  succeeded  in  procuring  a  cottage  and  were  at 
the  hotel. 

Although  it  was  early  evening,  the  dancing  in 
the  ballroom  was  in  progress,  which  Grace  did 
10 


146  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

not  feel  disposed  to  enjoy.  Her  mother  had  re- 
tired to  her  room,  and  she  sought  for  a  brief  res- 
pite, the  pleasing  repose  of  the  now  almost  de- 
serted grounds,  where  however,  still  loitered  those 
who  preferred  the  open  air.  It  was  now  the  third 
day  since  they  had  so  hurriedly  left  Washington, 
and  she  was  still  harassed  by  the  apparent  con- 
tradictions in  the  conduct  of  Miles  Standish.  No 
explanations  had  been  received  from  him,  but  as 
she  reminded  herself,  these  could  not  be  given, 
when  he  did  not  know  where  she  was.  Yet,  to 
let  him  know,  to  address  him  a  note,  was  under 
the  circumstances  quite  impossible.  Thus  her 
thoughts  traversed  a  circle,  always  returning  to 
the  starting  point. 

Poor  Grace  was  in  deep  trouble,  but  not  utterly 
cast  down,  for  in  the  midst  of  her  perplexity  she 
had  an  abiding  faith  in  the  loyalty  of  her 
friend.  Her  clear  and  just  perceptions  of  his 
character,  made  her  feel  quite  certain  that  what 
was  to  her  inexplicable  could  not  fail  to  be  satis- 
factorily explained.  But  how  tantalizing  and 
wearing  the  prolonged  waiting. 

Then,  as  she  thought  over  and  over  again,  the 
embarrassing  situation,  the  parting  words  of  Elsa, 


SEQUENCES   OF   HYPNOTISM.  147 

and  thoughts  of  Elsa,  would  present  themselves 
with  tormenting  persistence.  "  Why  should  he 
not,"  she  would  ask  herself,  "  be  attracted  by  this 
beautiful  and  captivating  woman,  who  has  a 
witchery  of  manner  and  a  beauty  of  person  which 
I  do  not  possess  ?  " 

Then  her  superior  nature  made  clear  response 
to  the  temptation  of  mistrust,  by  the  reflection 
that  her  lover  was  true  and  loyal,  and  to  be  de- 
pended upon,  "  because  in  fact,  he  has  told  me  he 
is  mine." 

As  thus  in  deep  revery  she  walked  up  and  down 
a  somewhat  retired  path,  she  was  not  a  little  sur- 
pr.ised  and  indeed  agitated,  when  Adonhiram  un- 
expectedly joined  her. 

And  this  man  of  action  and  firm  purpose,  he 
too  had  done  brave  battle  with  himself.  "  Could 
it  have  been  otherwise,"  thought  he.  "  Perhaps 
this  feverish  ambition  that  consumes  me  could 
have  been  held  in  check  by  the  force  of  those  en- 
dearing ties  that  give  solace  to  the  hearts  of  other 
men.  And  even  now,  I  might  have  chosen  per- 
sonal happiness  to  the  grasping  demands  of  am- 
bition. Suppose  I  find  she  cares  not  for  him, 
why  sacrifice  this  one  hope  of  a  lost  mariner  ? 


148  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

But  if  as  indeed  it  must  be  otherwise,  and  she  has 
given  him  the  treasury  of  her  affections,  then  she 
will  never  know  that  I  have  cherished  one  thought 
of  her." 

The  men  who  command  other  men,  whose  lofty 
aspirations  and  high  aims  seek  to  control  events, 
are  out  of  the  depth  of  their  nature,  the  very 
men,  who  confide  with  simple  faith  in  that  woman 
who  is  most  sympathetic  to  them. 

"  Miss  Bellamy,"  said  Adonhiram  bending  to 
kiss  the  tips  of  her  fingers,  "  this  is  a  great  pleas- 
ure to  me." 

"  A  pleasure  and  a  great  surprise,"  answered 
Grace.  "  When  did  you  leave  Washington,  Cap- 
tain Adonhiram  ?  " 

"  Only  a  few  hours  ago,"  he  replied.  "  I  am 
about  to  leave  America  for  an  indefinite  time,  and 
may  I  venture  to  confess,  that  my  object  in  com- 
ing here  was  to  see  you  once  more  before  my  de- 
parture. In  fact,  to  make  my  adieus  in  person." 

"  This  is  most  kind,  Captain  Adonhiram,"  said 
Grace,  "  and  I  appreciate  the  friendliness." 

The  light  was  uncertain  and  he  could  not  mark 
her  expression,  but  the  clear  and  unembarrassed 
tone  of  her  voice,  evinced  that  her  words  had  their 


SEQUENCES   OF    HYPNOTISM.  149 

exact  meaning,  in  which  there  was  not  one  shade 
of  sentiment  in  his  regard. 

"  I  accept  the  fiat,"  thought  he,  "  and  now  I 
know  for  a  certainty  that  it  is  not  my  destiny  to 
know  home  life.  I  have  always  felt  that  my  life 
must  be  cheerless." 

And  he  added  without  a  change  of  intonation. 
"  I  am  also  charged  to  convey  to  you  the  kind 
remembrance  of  our  friend  Mr.  Standish." 

"  Yes,"  said  she,  and  her  voice  trembled  as  she 
added,  "  When  did  you  see  him  ?  " 

"Ah,"  thought  he,  "that  hesitating  tone  be- 
trays a  heart  throb.  I  saw  him  this  morning," 
he  answered,  "  and  I  left  him  if  I  may  speak 
frankly,  greatly  agitated  with  the  fear,  that  he  by 
some  mischance  must  have  displeased  you." 

"  I  do  not  understand,"  she  said  coldly,  "  why 
Mr.  Standish  should  express  such  agitation  to 
you,  when  he  might  so  readily  have  made  it  known 
directly  to  me." 

"  You  are  quite  right,"  he  said,  "  and  under  or- 
dinary circumstances,  such  action  on  his  part 
might  have  been  deemed  indelicate." 

"  And  pray,"  she  asked,  "  what  extraordinary 
causes  have  intervened  ?  " 


150  THE   SECRET    DIRECTORY. 

>  "  So  strange,  and  yet  so  simple  is  the  explana- 
tion," said  he,  "  that  it  is  difficult  to  make." 

"Your  words,"  said  she,  "are  riddles  I  cannot 
solve." 

"  It  is  a  story  of  hypnotism,"  he  answered. 
"  After  we  left  South  Mountain,  it  would  seem 
that  Elsa  Zigi  amused  herself  by  hypnotizing 
Standish." 

"  And  he  permitted  her  !  "  she  said  scornfully. 

"  His  fault  was  that  of  overrating  his  own 
power  of  resistance  and  underrating  the  danger." 

"  I  understand,"  she  replied  quietly. 

"  The  day  he  arrived  in  Washington,  she  had 
not  released  him  from  this  hypnotic  spell ;  and  in 
order  to  try  the  extent  of  her  power,  she  sent  for 
him  to  go  to  her  at  two  o'clock.  '  He  was  under 
the  constraint  of  her  will,  and  he  had  to  go." 

"  Do  you  mean  to  assert  as  a  fact,"  said  she, 
"that  a  hypnotizer  can  exert  such  dangerous 
power  ?  " 

"  I  have  no  theories  on  this  subject,"  he  said. 
"It  is  bristling  with  facts.  After  she  released 
him  the  following  day,  and  lie  could  assert  him- 
self, he  at  once  recalled  with  great  disquiet  that 
he  must  have  failed  to  meet  an  engagement  to 


SEQUENCES   OF    HYPNOTISM.  151 

call  upon  you  at  that  hour.  I  assure  you,  he  has 
only  sentiments  of  aversion  for  Miss  Zigi.  As  I 
happened  to  meet  him  when  he  made  this  con- 
strained visit,  I  immediately  noticed  that  she  had 
placed  him  in  the  hypnotic  trance  out  of  which  I 
insisted  she  should  release  him  ;  and  when  later 
on  I  called  at  his  rooms,  he  confided  to  me  his 
distressing  perplexity  in  your  regard." 

"  And  why,"  she  asked,  "  could  not  Mr. 
Standish  have  told  me  all  this  himself?" 

"  He  was  made  still  more  unhappy,"  he  said, 
"by  not  knowing  where  you  had  gone." 

"And  how  did  you  know  where  I  was?"  she 
again  asked. 

These  direct  questions  gave  Adonhiram  a  secret 
twinge  of  conscience,  for  he  could  not  conceal 
from  himself  the  true  reason,  that  he  had  been 
unable  to  deny  himself  this  last  interview.  Nor 
had  he  been  entirely  free  from  a  faint  hope  in  her 
regard.  "I  must  be  as  downright  as  she  is,"  he 
thought,  "for  she  deserves  candor.  Elsa  Zigi 
told  me  where  you  were,"  he  answered,  "and  I 
feared  from  her  manner,  that  she  intended  to 
make  trouble,  so  I  came  here  at  once  to  make  that 
which  was  doubtful  clear." 


152  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

"  Elsa  Zigi  is  a  wretch,"  exclaimed  Grace  with 
downright  feminine  vehemence,  as  she  recalled 
her  visit,  and  what  she  now  knew  must  have  been 
its  purport.  Nor  did  she  escape  a  momentary 
feeling  of  jealousy  in  the  aroused  reflection. 

"  You  are  safe,"  said  Adonhiram  sadly.  "  Why 
not  be  merciful  ?  You  will  doubtless  meet  Mr. 
Standish  to-morrow.  He  is  worthy  of  all  re- 
gard." 

"And  how  can  I  express  my  gratitude  to  you, 
dear  Captain  Adonhiram  ?  "  said  Grace,  with  tears 
in  her  fine  eyes,  and  tears  that  trembled  in  her 
voice. 

"My  work  here  is  ended,"  said  he  very  gently. 
"  We  may  never  meet  again  ;  but  I  pray  you, 
think  kindly  of  me  as  of  a  true  friend;  as  of  one, 
Grace  Bellamy,  who  admires  the  candor  of  your 
pure  nature,  and  will  ever  cherish  an  admiration 
for  your  womanly  integrity." 

She  held  out  her  hand  in  reply,  but  he  was 
gone. 


THE   TWO   PRINCIPLES.  153 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE     MONK     AND   THE   MASON.      THE   TWO   PRIN- 
CIPLES. 

AT  the  time  our  story  opens,  in  the  summer  of 
1859,  the  United  States  was  at  peace,  but  it  was 
rather  the  lurid  stillness  that  precedes  the  storm 
than  a  healthful  calm. 

Washington  during  the  winter  of  1860  was 
marked  by  an  unusual  social  brilliancy,  and  amid 
the  gay  round  of  dinners,  receptions,  and  dances, 
it  was  impossible  to  realize  that  the  country 
rested  upon  the  seething  volcanic  fires  of  a  rebel- 
lion so  soon  to  burst  forth,  that  would  subject  the 
whole  country  to  the  untold  horrors  of  civil  war. 

And  in  Southern  Europe  too,  the  tidal  wave  of 
revolution  was  at  its  height,  and  the  long  prepara- 
tion of  Machiavellisrn  and  intrigue,  leading  to  the 
so-called  unification  of  Italy,  was  now  ready  to 
culminate  in  high-handed  violence. 

Adonhiram's  mission  to  America  had  not  been 
in  vain,  for  the  leaders  of  the  Secret  Societies 


154  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

that  direct  events,  were  instructed  as  far  as  was 
needful,  as  to  the  general  plan,  and  these  orga- 
nizers, acting  in  turn  upon  the  serried  phalanx 
they  held  in  control,  through  this  compact  body 
of  men,  influenced  the  masses. 

Thus  the  popular  mind  was  already  captivated 
by  the  specious  catchwords  of  Liberty,  Equality, 
Fraternity,  that  enlisted  in  advance  the  sympathy 
of  America  for  the  shameless  robbery  so  long  pre- 
pared for,  and  so  soon  to  be  consummated,  of  a 
friendly  power. 

And  even  good  people  failed  to  see,  when  they 
rejoiced  in  the  so  called  unification  of  Italy,  that 
the  end  so  ardently  desired  involved  treachery, 
established  rights  violated,  and  the  dishonorable 
theft  of  the  Kingdom  of  Sicily.  This  much  in 
1859. 

In  1870,  a  robbery  which  for  brutal  turpitude, 
recalls  the  primal  Satanic  invasion. 

The  almost  warm,  clear  days  of  early  January 
found  Captain  Adonhiram  en  voyage  on  his  way 
back  to  London,  where  lie  was  looked  for  to  take 
part  in  deliberations  concerning  the  impending 
movements,  in  which  it  was  designed  that  he 
should  play  an  important  role. 


THE    TWO    PRINCIPLES.  155 

The  glory,  the  majesty  of  the  sea,  always  re- 
joiced Adonhiram.  He  was  a  tried  sailor  and  the 
ocean  his  element. 

As  often  happens  in  this  midwinter  month,  the 
sea  was  calm  as  if  resting  midway  between  the 
storms  of  December  and  February. 

One  fine  day,  as  he  was  taking  his  ease  in  a 
steamer  chair,  indulging  in  that  full  contentment 
of  repose  which  follows  and  precedes  stormy 
action,  his  attention  was  arrested  by  the  near 
presence  of  a  Franciscan  monk  who  was  evidently 
reading  his  office  as  he  tranquilly  paced  the  deck 
to  and  fro,  with  the  recollected  air  of  an  anchorite, 
but  the  steady  assured  step  of  a  mariner.  He 
was  of  an  imposing  stature  and  not  unlike  Adon- 
hiram himself,  in  general  build  and  personal  ap- 
pearance, and  as  he  strode  the  deck  with  an  elastic 
easy  movement,  much  as  Adonhiram  disliked 
monks  and  priests  as  such,  he  felt  himself  im- 
pelled by  some  mysterious  attraction  he  could  not 
understand,  to  this  man. 

His  coarse  brown  habit,  with  cowl  and  girdle, 
and  sandaled  feet,  gave  the  monk  an  oriental 
picturesqueness  that  was  fascinating.  Assuredly 
he  had  touched  some  cherished  recollection  in  the 


156  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

heart  of  Adonhiram,  for  the  latter  evinced  deep 
emotion  as  he  closely  scanned  him  with  an  increas- 
ing interest. 

"'  Strange  resemblance,"  muttered  the  Mason, 
recalling  a  never  to-be-forgotten  hour.  "  But 
why,"  thought  he  with  the  old  bitterness  against 
monasticism,  "Why  should  I  give  more  than  a 
passing  thought  toward  this  wily  son  of  Francis 
of  Assisi,  deluded  follower  of  the  poor  fool,  whose 
absurd  tenets  only  serve  to  clog  progress  and  de- 
base that  pride  of  intellect  we  exult  in,  down  to 
his  own  crazy  standard  of  drivelling  humility. 
We  glory  in  self-deification ;  these  monks  trample 
under  foot  the  individual.  No,  no,  it  must  ever 
be,  as  it  has  ever  been,  war  between  us,  war  of 
the  two  principles.  But  I  will  sound  this  fellow, 
for  a  monk  at  large  and  on  his  way  to  Rome, 
doubtless  is  an  enemy  to  be  watched  and  per- 
chance guarded  against." 

How  often  it  occurs,  as  if  by  a  process  of  telep- 
athy, that  when  one  is  intently  occupied  with  the 
thought  of  some  one  near,  a  semi-consciousness  is 
produced. 

The  monk  as  if  divining  Adonhiram's  thoughts, 
suddenly  turned  toward  him  and  their  eyes  met. 


THE  TWO  PRINCIPLES.  157 

Again  Adonhiram  was  troubled,  for  in  the  clear 
depths  of  those  mild  brown  eyes,  he  saw  the  re- 
flection of  that  in  his  own  past  stormy  life,  which 
he  never  could  recall  without  the  deepest  feel- 
ing. 

Adonhiram  with  a  slight  inclination  of  his  head, 
pointed  to  a  vacant  chair  near,  and  the  monk 
whose  intuitions  were  clear  and  unclouded  by  any 
self-interest,  read  in  the  wistful  searching  look 
bent  upon  him,  an  invitation  to  comradeship.  He 
therefore  frankly  accepted  the  tacit  request,  and 
drawing  the  chair  nearer,  seated  himself.  At  the 
moment  he  did  so,  the  monk  in  turn  gave  a  slight 
gesture  of  surprise,  as  his  eye  fell  upon  the  signet 
ring  of  Adonhiram. 

It  was  a  superb  moonstone  quaintly  set,  and 
upon  its  opalescent  surface  was  engraved  the 
double-headed  eagle  surmounted  by  a  triangle, 
from  which  issued  fervid  rays,  and  within  which 
were  the  mystic  numbers  thirty-three.  Upon  the 
scroll  that  the  eagle  held  in  his  talons  were  thirt}-- 
three  stars  and  the  Ma/zinian  legend  :  "  Dei  et 
Popoli"  God  and  the  people. 

"You  wear,"  said  the  monk,  "the  signet  ring  of 
authority,  of  the  Scottish  rite,  Rose-Croix,  number 


158  THE  SECRET  DIRECTORY. 

thirty-three.  Of  course  you  have  had  a  mission 
to  fulfill  in  America." 

"  How  so  ?  "  answered  the  Mason  impassively, 
but  much  wondering  as  to  his  interlocutor's 
source  of  knowledge. 

"  The  handwriting  on  the  wall  is  plain  to  me," 
replied  the  Monk.  "  I  was  of  the  Rose-Croix, 
Scottish  rite,  number  thirty-two.  So  we  are  both 
initiates  into  the  higher  mysteries." 

"And  you  are  now?"  queried  the  Mason  with 
a  scornful  intonation  he  could  not  repress. 

"  As  you  see  me,  thank  God,"  answered  the 
monk  fervently,  "  an  humble  monk  of  the  venera- 
ble order  of  St.  Francis  of  Assisi." 

And  Adonhiram  could  not  refrain  from  saying, 
"  And  are  you  fully  aware  of  your  mortal  peril  as 
a  renegade  ?  " 

Had  an  aureole  of  light  fallen  from  Heaven 
upon  the  head  of  the  monk,  that  his  face  there- 
upon shone  with  a  holy  shining,  as  he  exclaimed, 
"If  the  dear  Lord  so  wills,  martyrdom." 

"  It  is  sublime,"  thought  Adonhiram,  and  yet 
again,  memory  led  him  back  nearly  a  score  of 
years  to  the  memorable  hour,  when  once  before 
he  had  seen  this  same  wrapt  Heavenward  look, 


THE  TWO  PEINC1PLES.  159 

and  he  asked,  "  Pray  be  so  good,  the  story  of  your 
life.  Whence  comes  this  madness  ?  " 

"  It  can  be  told  in  a  few  words,"  said  the  monk. 
"  Pardon  candor  but  I  was  as  you  are,  in  outer 
darkness,  yet  thinking  I  had  the  true  wisdom  as  a 
torch-bearer  of  light,  when  the  change  came." 

"Too  evasive,"  interjected  the  Mason  sternly. 
"  Give  me  facts,  not  opinions." 

"The  facts  are  simply  these,"  answered  the 
monk  patiently.  "There  were  two  of  us,  my 
brother  and  I." 

Adonhiram  gave  an  involuntary  start,  which 
the  monk  perceiving  asked,  "Did  you  know  him?" 

"  Go  on,"  replied  the  Mason,  in  a  husky  voice. 

"  Yes,  you  must  have  known  him,"  exclaimed 
the  monk  earnestly.  "  I  feel  sure  that  you  knew 
him.  Listen.  My  brother  was  first  converted  to 
the  true  faith,  and  receiving  the  grace  from 
Heaven,  he  became  a  Franciscan  monk.  I  was  in 
the  inner  secret  councils  of  the  Grand  Orient,  as 
he  had  been,  and  I  felt  sure,  knowing  him  as  I 
did,  that  some  superhuman  motive  must  have 
filled  his  soul ;  some  powerful  reason  that  I  had 
never  grasped,  something  that  was  worth  know- 
ing, that  could  bring  about  so  radical  a  change. 


160  THE  SECRET  DIRECTORY. 

"I  sought  him  in  his  retreat  and  found  him  con- 
sumed with  holy  zeal  and  possessed  by  a  strange 
enthusiasm  for  a  martyr's  crown.  Through  the 
grace  of  God,  ever  blessed  be  His  name,  he  ob- 
tained for  me  the  gift  of  faith ;  and  we  parted  for 
all  time.  He  was  sent  out  on  a  mission  to  Monte- 
video, and  there,  there,"  added  the  monk,  his 
voice  sinking  to  an  awed  whisper,  "  God  granted 
his  longing  desire.  He  gave  his  life  to  save  a 
captive  youth." 

Adonhiram's  eyes  filled  with  tears,  as  trembling 
with  emotion  he  embraced  the  monk.  "  I  was 
that  captive,"  said  he.  Then  after  a  pause  he 
added,  "Your  noble  brother  offered  his  own  life 
to  save  mine." 

"  My  martyr  brother  died  to  save  his  body," 
thought  the  monk,  "  it  may  be  vouchsafed,  that  I 
complete  the  work  and  save  his  soul." 

And  Adonhiram  felt  the  strange  spell  of  the 
monk's  rapt  expression  as  lie  gazed  upward,  such 
as  he  had  seen  the  brother's  countenance  assume, 
as  the  solemn  hour  preceding  martyrdom,  the 
same  ecstatic  radiance,  the  spiritualized  appeal  to 
the  invisible.  Could  he  ever  forget  it? 


THE   TWO   PRINCIPLES.  161 

There  was  silence  broken  by  the  monk,  who 
asked  wistfully,  "  Pray  tell  me  all." 

"  It  is  your  due,"  answered  Adonhiram.  "  I 
was  with  Garibaldi  in  Montevideo  in  1843,  acting 
as  his  aid,  at  the  time  of  the  insurrection  of  Rosas. 
One  day,  being  sent  out  to  reconnoitre,  I  was 
captured  by  this  fierce  and  cruel  brigand  chief 
just  at  nightfall.  The  band  that  captured  me 
was  scouring  the  plains  outside  of  the  city,  and  at 
the  early  dawn  Rosas  was  to  move  onward. 
Short  shrift  was  made  of  me.  A  grave  was  dug, 
and  at  daybreak  I  was  to  be  shot.  I  could  hear 
the  dull  thud  of  the  grave-digging  during  the  long 
watches  of  that  night,  and  I  knew  the  open  trench 
was  ready,  into  which  my  mangled  body  was  so 
soon  to  fall. 

"  I  was  nearly  a  score  of  years  younger  then 
than  I  am  now,  and  it  was  bitter  thus  to  die. 
Life  is  sweet  to  a  boy  of  twenty. 

"The  night  sped  on  apace  and  was  far  spent, as 
I  waited  for  the  fatal  sunrise  in  my  guarded  tent. 
The  brooding  moon  hung  low,  as  the  heavy  dark- 
ness that  precedes  the  dawn,  was  upon  us.  Pres- 
ently I  heard  the  rapid  approach  of  some  one  on 
horseback.  Oh,  could  it  be  Garibaldi  come  to  the 
11 


162  THE   SECRET    DIRECTORY. 

rescue  ?  There  was  a  moment's  parley  with  the 
guard  and  in  another  instant  a  Franciscan  monk 
drew  aside  the  canvas  and  stood  before  me.  1 
never  knew  his  name,  but  he  stood  before  me,  of 
my  own  stature,  and  as  I  saw  him  in  the  dim  light 
he  resembled  you.  My  faint  hope  of  rescue  was 
rudely  dissipated,  and  I  drew  myself  to  my  full 
height  haughtily,  as  I  said  in  defiant  tones,  'No 
monk  shall  dare  to  shrive  me.  Begone.' 

"  He  seized  my  unwilling  hand,  as  bending  for- 
ward he  whispered  with  passionate  fervor,  '  I 
come  not  to  shrive  but  to  save.  Be  quick,  change 
clothes,  take  my  horse,  put  spurs  to  his  flanks,  a 
race  for  life  and  you  can  reach  your  garrison.' 
4  And  you  ?  '  I  asked.  '  Ask  no  questions,  go  at 
once.  No,  stay.  There  is  one  promise.  Swear 
never  to  act  against  Rome,  and  to  respect  the  Holy 
Father.'  I  took  the  oath,  and  I  made  my  escape. 
An  hour  later  Rosas,  in  an  access  of  rage,  ordered 
the  monk  to  be  shot.  He  filled  my  open  grave." 

"  And  won  a  martyr's  crown.  Thanks  forever 
be  to  God.  Amen,"  responded  the  monk  with 
irrepressible  enthusiasm.  "  But  your  vow  ?  "  he 
added. 

"  I  hate  monks  and  clericalism,"  the  Mason  said 


THE   TWO    PRINCIPLES.  163 

bitterly  with  ground  teeth.  "  But  your  brother's 
lifeblood  has  set  the  seal  on  my  promise.  I  must 
say  frankly,  that  I  never  did  or  could  understand 
the  motive  that  led  to  this  sublime  sacrifice,  nor 
the  reason  why  I  was  made  to  take  the  vow  as  a 
condition  of  my  release.  But  be  that  as  it  may, 
life  was  much  to  me  then,  and  I  was  and  ever 
shall  be  grateful." 

"I  bless  you,"  said  the  monk,  "  for  the  honest 
recital,  and  I  can  now  connect  all  the  links.  My 
brother  was  eager  to  win  a  martyr's  crown,  and 
God,  through  you,  vouchsafed  to  grant  his  holy 
longing.  He  had  been  of  the  Secret  Directory  of 
the  Grand  Orient." 

Adonhiram  gave  an  involuntary  start. 

"  As  you  doubtless  now  are,"  added  the  monk. 
"  We  are  now  talking  as  initiates  of  the  highest 
orders,  which  you  are  and  I  was,  and  we  may  as 
well  speak  plainly,  for  you  know,  and  I  knpw,  that 
there  always  exists  one  Secret  Head,  whose  very 
name  is  unknown,  except  to  the  Secret  Directory, 
but  who  to  them,  and  to  them  alone,  is  known  as 
the  Patriarch  ;  and  the  names  of  this  Directory  are 
in  turn  unknown  except  in  guarded  gradations  of 
Venerables.  My  brother  had  seen  you  with  Gari- 


164  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

baldi,  who  was  from  the  first  a  warlike  agent  of 
this .  Directory,  to  execute  the  decre'es  of  the 
Grand  Orient.  He  knew  that  the  fiat  of  the 
higher  grades  always  meant  revolution  and  venge- 
ance. Then  he  saw  that  you  were  brave  and 
reckless  of  consequences,  and  must  rise  to  do  the 
work  at  Rome.  In  the  sublime  vicarious  sacrifice 
of  his  life,  my  brother  sought  to  guard  the  person 
of  the  Holy  Father." 

The  Mason  made  no  reply,  but  light  hitherto 
unknown  struggled  with  the  darkness  of  his  soul. 


*  *   *  * 


The  ensuing  day,  this  conversation  of  absorb- 
ing interest  was  renewed.  Both  men  were  of 
earnest  convictions,  and  the  peculiar  tie  that 
bound  them  made  their  discussions  possible.  Nor 
could  there  be  betrayal,  where  both  were  fully  in- 
itiated. 

"  I  have  learned  since  yesterday,"  said  the 
monk,  "  that  you  are  called  Captain  Adonhiram  ; 
and  I  infer  from  this  cognomen  that  you  are  still 
in  league  with  Garibaldi,  and  belong  to  the  execu- 
tive arm  of  the  Grand  Orient,  for  the  true  Adon- 
hiram means,  The  Master  to  revenge'"1 


THE   TWO   PRINCIPLES.  165 

"  A  merely  symbolic  phrase,"  said  Adonhiram 
carelessly. 

"  The  three  symbolical  grades,"  said  the  monk, 
"  are  those  of  Apprentice,  Companion  and  Master. 
If  these  symbols  are  purely  allegorical,  they  are 
senseless  ;  but  if  they  teach  the  lesson  we  know 
they  teach,  it  is  a  frightful  one.  For  you  this 
false  mask  must  long  since  have  been  torn  away, 
and  you  must  be  a  passed  chemist  in  the  awful 
laboratory  of  revolution." 

"  Of  course,"  remarked  the  Mason,  "  the  action 
of  secret  societies  like  the  occult  alchemy  of  Na- 
ture, runs  like  a  hidden  vein  of  pure  gold 
through  all  the  pages  of  the  history  of  modern 
times.  One  of  our  orators,  Malapert,  says  truly, 
that  '  since  the  eighteenth  century  nothing  is 
done  without  the  consent  of  the  Masons.'  We 
hold  the  key  that  unlocks  all  forces  and  explains 
the  trend  of  events.  History  is  a  confused  mass 
of  facts  without  apparent  motive  unless  our 
agency  is  taken  into  account." 

"  Alas,  it  is  all  too  true,"  said  the  monk  sadly. 
"  The  emblematical  three  companions  to  be  assas- 
sinated, are  ever  the  same.  They  are  religion,  au- 
thority and  government.  Everywhere  in  Masonry 


166  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

appear  the  two  principles  of  good  and  evil.  They 
are  unceasingly  personified  in  all  the  rites,  and 
rise  phoenix-like  in  endless  shapes.  It  is  an  eter- 
nal procession  of  shades  made  manifest  through 
Masonry.  Thus  we  have,  Osiris  and  Typhon ; 
Ormus  and  Ahrimane ;  Pantheism  and  Atheism  ; 
Solidarity  and  Fatality." 

"  There  is  a  God  of  Masonry,"  said  Adonhiram. 
"  He  is  Nature.  He  is  known  as  the  Grand  Arch- 
itect of  the  universe." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  monk.  "  He  is  known  in  many 
shapes.  He  is  typified  by  Pan  and  Isis ;  and  the 
exponents  of  the  morals  of  your  sect,  for  heresy 
it  is,  are  Helvetius,  Voltaire,  J.  J.  Rousseau,  Did- 
erot, D'Alembert,  Condorcet,  Volney  and  a  host 
of  others." 

"  In  England  and  the  United  States,"  replied 
the  Mason  evasively.  "  Masoniy  has  given  a  place 
to  the  Bible  in  its  ritual." 

"  Doubtless,"  replied  the  monk,  "  the  Bible  is 
used  with  a  Masonic  interpretation,  but  in  these 
two  countries  the  position  is  isolated." 

"  And  in  Germany  likewise,"  added  the  Mason, 
"  the  Bible  appears  in  the  Lodges." 

"  I  am  told,"  replied   the  monk  with  a  smile, 


THE  TWO   PRINCIPLES.  167 

"that  the  Holy  Writ  is  replaced  in  German  Chap- 
ters, by  a  book  of  blank  leaves  with  the  inscrip- 
tion God.  It  reminds  one  of  the  Athenian  dedi- 
cation '  To  the  Unknown  God.' ' 

"And  yet,"  said  Adonhiram,  "what  more  rea- 
sonable or  scientific  worship  can  be  found  than  is 
ours?  We  have  to  begin  with,  the  very  charac- 
teristic that  your  church  claims  as  proof  of  its 
divine  mission,  unity." 

"  And  this  very  semblance  of  unit}V  replied 
the  monk,  "  is  a  menace  to  society,  for  it  is  pro- 
duced by  the  terror  of  oaths  and  penalties.  This 
imitation  of  truth  in  the  symbolic  grades  is  one  of 
the  peculiar  features  of  all  secret  societies,  but  in 
the  higher  grades,  Isis  is  unveiled.  Tertullian 
declares  of  the  oath-bound  orders,  that  from  the 
second  century,  they  imitated  the  ceremonies  of 
the  divine  Sacraments.  Thus  we  see  at  this  day 
that  they  ascend  grade  by  grade,  to  the  impiety  of 
the  Rose-Croix  and  the  Chevalier  Kadoch.  This 
is  the  explanation  of  the  seemingly  ridiculous 
ceremonies  and  often  otherwise  unmeaning  ones 
of  all  the  grades,  that  they  are  really  intended  to 
burlesque  religion.  The  unity  of  Masonry  rests 
in  its  being  oath-bound,  and  its  very  preservation 


168  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

depends  on  its  terror-stricken  secrecy.  Yet  after 
all,  the  rites  differ.  This  is  not  the  unity  of  God's 
truth." 

"•  Distort  it  as  you  will,"  interrupted  Adonhiram, 
in  an  icy  tone.  "  However  much  the  ritual  may 
vary,  the  principle  remains  always  the  same.  The 
symbolic  grades  are  the  exterior  life,  but  the 
higher  orders  of  adepts  have  the  interior  life 
wherein  rests  the  soul  of  Masonrj1-.  It  is  the  re- 
ligion of  Humanity,  and  the  Venerable  preserves 
individualism,  which  your  abhorred  system  of 
clericalism  destroys ;  while  ours,  is  the  true  altar  of 
Human  Rights  before  which  officiates  the  High 
Priest  of  Jehovah." 

"A  Humanity,"  observed  the  monk,  "put  in 
the  place  of  God.  All  the  allegories  of  Masonry 
teach  the  deification  of  man.  It  is  the  echo  down 
the  ages  of  the  first  Satanic  promise  made  to  man- 
kind, '  You  will  become  as  Gods.'  And  the  God 
thus  adored  is  not  the  God  of  the  Christians,  but 
Nature,  Pan,  as  grand  architect  of  the  universe." 

"  And  pray,  what  of  our  Apostolic  Succession? 
Do  you  not  find  its  existence  in  an  unbroken  chain 
in  your  learned  investigations  ?  "  asked  the  Mason 
scornfully. 


THE  TWO  PRINCIPLES.  169 

"  Your  craft  is  ancient,"  answered  the  monk. 
"  You  are  the  successors  of  the  priests  of  Heliop- 
olis,  of  the  Magians,  of  the  Chaldeans,  of  the 
Brahmanites,  of  the  Gymnosophists,  of  the 
Druids.  You  are  the  heirs  of  the  Sabeens  and  of 
Zoroaster.  Like  the  fabled  phrenix  you  arise  pro- 
lific from  the  ashes  of  all  sects.  You  reproduce 
the  Persian  mysteries  of  Mithras,  the  hieroglyphics 
of  the  Egyptian  Isis,  the  occultism  of  the  Grecian 
Eleusis." 

"  Very  good,"  laughed  the  Mason,  "  and  we  are 
prophets  likewise.  What  of  the  dying  prophecy 
of  Jacques  Molay  ?  " 

"  Your  sect  has  taken  care  to  verify  the  predic- 
tion, for  ever  since  that  terrible  utterance,  the  un- 
ceasing cry  of  vengeance  resounds  in  your  Lodges. 
Presently,  you  will  have  discrowned  the  last  of  the 
Bourbons." 

Adonhiram  winced.  "  Can  he  know  the  plot  ?  " 
thought  he.  "  But  no,  it  is  only  the  general  drift 
that  he  notes,"  and  he  remarked  sarcastically, 
"At  least  you  must  give  us  credit  for  good  mem- 
ories. Like  you  Romanists,  we  do  not  forget  our 
martyrs." 

"  To   revenge    Jacques   Molay  after  a  lapse  of 


170  THE    SECRET    DIRECTORY. 

centuries,"  said  the  monk,  "  would  be  puerile  in- 
deed, were  it  not  for  the  terrible  meaning  involved, 
of  destruction.  Certainly  you  perpetuate  hatreds, 
for  instance  in  the  symbols  of  the  Rose-Croix,  the 
punishment  of  Manes  is  typified,  poor  Manes  who, 
failing  to  cure  the  son  of  the  Persian  King,  was 
burnt  alive  upon  pointes-de-roseaux.  And  you 
unite  in  the  Rose-Croix,  the  old  practices  of 
alchemy  of  Manes,  to  the  Rabbinical  Cabala,  and 
delude  your  adepts  with  promises  of  a  mystic  life 
disengaged  from  the  senses." 

"  Our  antiquity  is  our  boast,"  said  the  Mason, 
"  but  our  mission  is  for  all  time,  and  our  vast 
projects  rest  upon  the  firm  triple  foundation  of 
'  Liberty,  equality  and  fraternity. ' 

"  These  terms  are  illusive,"  answered  the  monk. 
"  How  can  liberty  exist  when  by  secret  oaths  a 
blind  obedience  is  exacted  ?  And  when  we  pene- 
trate far  enough,  to  know  the  reasons  for  this 
enforced  obedience,  we  find  when  too  late  to  safely 
withdraw,  that  the  real  end  is  the  ruin  of  religion 
and  government. 

"  It  is  a  Satanic  liberty  that  demands  absolute 
independence  of  all  authority  other  than  the 
Masonic  despotism.  Do  you  not  see,"  added  the 


THE  TWO    PRINCIPLES.  171 

monk,  "  that  like  the  serpent  you  always  turn  in 
the  same  circle  ?  Your  projects  are  impossible  to 
realize,  a  thousand  times  impossible.  If  you  over- 
turn society  you  cannot  rebuild  except  on  the 
secure  foundations  of  religion,  and  how  can  you 
reorganize  without  a  Head  ?  How  can  you  create 
order  out  of  disorder  without  the  subordination  of 
control,  and  if  you  restrain  you  reestablish  au- 
thority. Then,  Headship  anew  exists.  Again 
you  drift  directly  into  anarchy  and  the  Commune. 
How  will  yqu  keep  the  idle  and  the  vicious  in 
check  ?  " 

"  We  have,"  said  the  Mason,  "  a  potent  factor 
against  misrule,  in  our  contemplated  alliance  of 
universal  republicanism.  We  expect  to  bring 
about  a  grand  proletarian  revolution  which  we 
will  use  as  the  powerful  lever  for  an  economic 
change.  There  are  as  you  well  know,  correspond- 
ing tactics  to  use  in  different  countries.  In  En- 
gland and  the  United  States  there  are  the  agencies 
of  Trades  Unions ;  in  France  workmen's  syndi- 
cates ;  and  everywhere,  local  groups  can  be  fused 
into  corporations.  Needed  revolutions  purify." 

"  What  is  needed,"  replied  the  monk,  sadly,  "is 
reform,  not  revolution." 


172  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

"  You  do  not  put  the  question  fairly,"  said 
Adonhiram.  "  We  have  to  make  a  fight  against 
the  implacable  enemies  of  humanity.  Princes  and 
priests  are  oppressors  to  be  destroyed." 

"  You  remind  me,"  said  the  monk,  "of  the  doc- 
trines of  your  exponent  Fichte,  when  he  boldly 
declares,  'That  all  means  are  permitted,  fire  and 
sword,  cunning  and  violence,  poison  and  poignard. 
The  end  sanctifies  the  means,'  he  says." 

"  But,"  said  Adonhiram,  "  you  lose  sight  of  the 
grandeur  of  our  fundamental  idea  of  equality  and 
fraternity,  which  must  reorganize  society  on  a 
natural  basis.  But  why  should  we  continue  our 
discussion,  for  we  can  never  agree."  *  *  *  * 

The  sea  remained  calm,  and  the  traversee  was  a 
rapid  one.  During  the  voyage,  Adonhiram  had 
been  several  times  rather  annoyed  by  the  too  near 
approach  of  a  rather  effeminate  looking  youth, 
who  had,  with  seeming  inadvertence  during  several 
of  the  conversations  we  have  narrated,  taken  a 
chair  rather  uncomfortably  near,  yet  whenever  he 
had  looked  toward  the  young  man,  his  pose  and 
manner  indicated  entire  indifference,  and  no 
farther  thought  was  given  to  his  movements,  other 
perhaps  than  uncomplimentary  mental  comments 


THE   TWO    PRINCIPLES.  173 

as  to  the  general  uufitness  for  any  earthly  uses,  of 
that  jeunesse  doree  of  which  this  dapper  little  fel- 
low seemed  an  average  type. 

He  always  reclined  with  averted  eyes,  and  re- 
garded space  in  a  vapid  way. 

Although  Adonhiram  had  each  time  resolved 
not  to  renew  these  controversies  with  the  monk, 
yet  whenever  they  met  on  the  few  successive  days, 
the  fascination  of  the  contest  was  irresistible. 

"It  is  fortunate  indeed,"  thought  the  Mason, 
"  that  this  monk  has  a  claim  upon  my  gratitude 
stronger  than  the  ties  of  Nature,  or  I  would  most 
certainly  inform  against  him  as  a  suspect." 

Then  again,  when  he  recalled  the  cruel  decrees 
of  the  Carbonari,  he  doubted  his  moral  right  to 
protect  him.  Had  he  not  heard  his  friend  Mazzini 
declare,  when  they  were  in  secret  conclave,  that 
"  those  who  do  not  obey  the  orders  of  the  secret 
societies  shall  be  poignarded  without  mercy,  same 
punishment  for  traitors,  and  if  the  guilty  one 
escape,  he  shall  be  pursued  without  ceasing  in 
every  place  and  struck  by  an  invisible  hand,  even 
were  he  in  the  arms  of  his  mother,  or  in  the  taber- 
nacle of  Christ." 

Nor  was  this 'law  an  idle  figment,  for  he  shud- 


174  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

dered  at  the  recollection  of  certain  sentences 
passed  in  secret  tribunals,  which  were  later  on 
carried  into  effect.  Especially  had  this  been  the 
case  with  several  tragedies  enacted  in  France,  for 
which  Mazzini  was  condemned  to  death,  did  he 
ever  appear  in  that  country.  The  question  would 
present  itself  with  disagreeable  force  as  to  his 
right  to  protect  a  renegade  under  any  circum- 
stances. 

"  I  would  rather  die  the  death  than  to  betray 
him,"  was  the  response  of  his  inner  self,  "and  we 
may  never  meet  again.  Through  his  brother's 
heroism  I  live,  and  in  his  name  I  must  repay  the 
debt."  Nor  would  lie  in  these  self-incriminations, 
acknowledge  the  admiring  regard  with  which  the 
monk  inspired  him,  as  he  would  mentally  exclaim, 
"  He  is  so  true,  brave,  disinterested  and  fervent." 
Their  last  conversation  on  the  steamer,  was  as 
usual,  a  renewal  of  the  same  theme. 

"  Why,"  inquired  the  monk,  "  should  secret  so- 
cieties exist  in  the  United  States  except  in  the  in- 
terests of  Socialism  ?  In  fact  it  is  surprising  that 
their  existence  should  be  tolerated  in  a  free  coun- 
try." 

"  There     are,"    said    Adonhiram,    "  beneficent 


THE   TWO   PRINCIPLES.  175 

reasons  for  such  organizations,  for  instance  alms- 
giving, and  the  mutual  succor  of  its  members,  that 
enlist  public  sentiment  in  its  behalf." 

The  monk  laughed.  "And  is  it  needed  in  order 
to  be  good,"  he  said,  "  to  be  oath-bound  under 
horrible  penalties?  Nor  does  almsgiving  make 
part  of  the  Mason's  creed.  In  fact  their  expo- 
nents discourage  the  idea.  It  is  passing  strange 
that  the  danger  to  free  institutions,  of  the  forma- 
tion of  an  irresponsible  state  within  a  state,  has 
not  been  fully  understood." 

"  It  can  not  be  said,"  replied  Adonhiram,  "  that 
Freemasonry  in  the  United  States  has  been  polit- 
ical in  its  aims." 

"  Perhaps  not  as  yet  positively,"  answered  the 
monk.  "  Their  political  action  has  been  rather 
inferential,  for  while  there  are  Masons  in  the  op- 
posing political  parties  that  control  the  elections, 
yet  the  point  is  made,  that  the  candidates  of  either 
party  must  be  Masons.  Now  such  a  state  of 
things  is  inimical  to  freedom." 

"  But,"  said  Adonhiram,  "you  do  not  find  Ma- 
sonry enter  into  public  political  debates." 

"  This  is  absolutely  of  no  consequence,"  said  the 
monk,  "  for  is  it  not  a  known  fact  that  parliamen- 


176  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

tary  debates  in  England  and  Congressional  de- 
bates in  America,  have  but  little  real  meaning. 
They  are  intended  for  the  uninitiated." 

Both  men  laughed  heartily,  when  the  monk  re- 
sumed, "  There  is  every  indication  in  the  United 
States  among  the  cognate  Secret  Societies  such  as 
the  Odd  Fellows  and  Knights  Templars  et  id,  that 
Masonry  is  in  this  way  being  simplified  for  the 
popular  use.  But  this  is  only  repeating  history, 
as  when  Cromwell  used  Masonry  to  carry  out  his 
designs." 

"But  this  was  in  behalf  of  freedom,"  urged 
Adonhiram. 

"  I  do  not  agree  with  you,"  objected  the  monk, 
"for  we  evidently  read  history  differently.  But 
to  return  to  America,  I  am  glad  to  perceive  that 
as  yet,  so  far  as  I  know,  women  are  not  members 
of  Lodges,  as  they  may  be  in  Europe  under  certain 
conditions.  We  have  at  least  escaped  the  inflic- 
tion in  America  of  androgynous  Lodges  with 
their  attendant  scandals." 

"And  why  should  not  Eve  play  her  part?" 
asked  Adonhiram.  '•  Remember  the  old  Masonic 
fable  of  Satan  as  Typhon,  and  Eve  or  Hava  as 
the  Apple  Tree.  How  can  there  be  a  radical 


THE  TWO  PRINCIPLES.  177 

reconstruction   of    all   social   order   without   wo- 
men ?  " 

At  this  moment  Adonhiram  happening  to  turn 
round  suddenly,  beheld  fixed  upon  him  with  a 
triumphant  gleam,,  the  lurid  eyes  of  the  delicate 
stripling,  who  had  unperceived  approached  so  very 
close  that  he  must  have  overheard,  if  not  under- 
stood their  conversation.  The  peculiar  depth  of 
the  keen,  fixed,  passionate  look,  was  uncomfortable, 
and  moreover  recalled  eyes  that  he  felt  sure  to 
have  seen  before. 

As  the  Mason  walked  abruptly  away,  mentally 
reproaching  himself  for  being  so  indiscreet,  the 
pale  face  of  the  listener  flushed,  and  there  was  an 
indistinct  ejaculation.  "I  can  do  better  far,  than 
to  shadow  him  in  man's  attire.  I  can  and  will 
become  a  High  Priestess  of  an  Androgynous 
European  Lodge,  and  do  battle  and  conquer  on 
his  own  chosen  ground." 
12 


178  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE    SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

ALMOST  all  the  affairs  of  this  period  of  revolu- 
tion, were  treated  by  secret  communications  be- 
tween the  principal  actors  themselves,  and  we  find 
that  these  conspirators  who  moved  the  hidden 
springs  of  action,  flitted  about  from  one  European 
capital  to  another  most  often  under  assumed 
names,  organizing  their  forces  and  directing  antic- 
ipated uprisings. 

He  who  reads  modern  history  without  taking 
into  account  these  machinations  of  the  intriguing 
leaders  of  secret  societies,  reads  blindly  and  to  lit- 
tle purpose,  but  with  this  key  to  unlock  obscure 
places,  one  can  readily  understand  that  the  events 
that  caused  most  surprise  as  being  seemingly  un- 
expected, had  in  reality  been  carefully  prepared 
and  were  the  natural  effects  of  causes. 

It  may  be  said  in  history  as  in  nature,  that 
Mmprevu  does  not  exist ;  and  when  one  exclaims, 


THE  SECRET  DIRECTORY.  179 

"  Vimprevu,  toujours  fimprevu  "  it  may  be  trans- 
lated, hidden  causes,  always  hidden  causes. 

In  Southern  Europe,  certainly  in  Italy,  at  the 
time  of  which  we  write,  the  most  powerful  as  well 
as  the  most  dangerous  combinations,  hostile  to  the 
peace  of  society,  were  made  by  the  Carbonari. 

This  sect  of  Carbonari,  although  it  may  have 
claimed,  through  its  Masonic  affiliations  a  greater 
antiquity,  was  really  selected  as  the  most  suitable 
revolutionary  means,  because  it  was  intended  to 
gain  the  middle  and  lower  classes  of  people,  and 
weld  them  for  its  purposes  by  oath-bound  obliga- 
tions. The  very  name  of  Carbonari,  meaning 
colliers  or  charcoal  burners,  indicates  the  nature 
of  the  union.  The  governing  power  over  these 
rude  masses  of  men  was  vested  in  three  persons, 
who  administered  conjointly  the  three  functions 
of  the  legislative,  executive  and  the  judicial. 

The  Lodges  were  called  Vendite,  and  the  highest 
and  final  tribunal,  was  the  judicial  and  called  the 
Alta  Vendite.  These  Vendite,  corresponding  to 
the  Chapters  of  Masonry,  were  subdivided  into 
numerous  Barraches,  each  presided  over  as  are 
the  Masonic  Lodges.  But  of  course  the  despotic 
hidden  power  rested  with  the  Alta  Vendite,  and 


180  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

the  head  of  this  Directory,  was  the  judicial  Grand 
Master.  After  all,  it  is  the  same  principle  modi- 
fied in  form  somewhat,  as  Masonry. 

The  organization  is  marvelously  adapted  to 
subserve  revolutionary  ends,  for  while  the  oath- 
bound  masses  are  uninformed  laboring  men,  or 
ambitious  nobodies  whom  the  cover  of  secrecy 
puffs  up  with  an  idea  that  they  are  making  over 
society,  yet  the  real,  despotic,  tyrannical  irrespon- 
sible Head,  is  the  Secret  Directory  of  three,  or 
perhaps  in  plenitude  of  absolutism,  the  Grand 
Master. 

Talk  of  the  slavery  of  the  one  man  rule  over 
nations.  It  is  a  mere  shadow  compared  to  the 
Satanic  power  such  a  secret  Head  can  wield. 

If  a  man  wishes  to  put  his  head  in. a  noose  and 
never  be  able  to  draw  it  out  again  without  being 
strangled,  he  need  only  enroll  himself  as  a  mem- 
ber of  an  oath-bound  band,  or  join  some  of  these 
vendite.  He  will  soon  find  if  he  is  disappointed 
or  disposed  to  be  recalcitrant,  that  the  harder  he 
pulls  the  tighter  the  noose  draws. 

In  fact,  secrecy,  and  the  terror  that  secrecy  in- 
spires, thus  welds  together  as  in  a  vise,  masses  of 
men  all  the  world  over. 


e<-*tt/\     O,,  ,,'<-— 

•nvv, 


C/tf    C,  A      f  /  v 


THE   SECRET  DIRECTORY.  183 

There  is  only  one  power  that  dares  fulminate 
against  this  subjection  of  the  liberty  of  men, 
against  this  incubus  that  under  false  and  specious 
pretenses  holds  humanity  bound  in  fetters,  and 
this  voice  is  Rome. 

Rome  against  whom  the  powers  of  darkness  can 
never  prevail. 

The  plot  that  had  been  so  carefully  laid,  was 
now  ready  to  culminate  into  action,  and  Adon- 
hiram's  return  from  his  mission  to  the  United 
States  was  anxiously  looked  for. 

He  had  immediately  upon  his  arrival  at  Hatch - 
ett's  Hotel,  Picadilly  W.,  sent  a  message  to  a  friend 
of  the  cause,  to  get  the  address  of  the  Grand 
Master  to  whom  he  must  at  once  report,  and  who 
he  knew  must  be  at  that  time  in  London  under 
an  assumed  name. 

The  answer  was  immediate,  and  from  the  Grand 
Master  himself ;  for  the  leaders  of  "  united  Italy" 
were  on  the  alert.  It  read  thus : 

*  "  MY  DEAR  FRIEND  : 

"  Why  on  earth  don't  you  come 
to   a   friend   instead   of  writing?     Do   come   on 

*A  verbatim  copy  of  an  unpublished  letter  of  Mazzini. 


184  THE   SECRET   DIEECTORY. 

Wednesday, to-morrow,  at  No.  2,  Onslow  Terrace, 
Brompton  Road.  Ask  for  Mr.  Ernejii,  and  shake 
hands  with  your 

"  JOSEPH  MAZZINI. 
"  Tuesday  morning." 

At  the  appointed  time,  the  two  friends,  mem- 
bers of  the  Secret  Directory  of  Carbonari,  High 
Priests  of  revolution,  met  with  the  triple  symbolic 
embrace. 

The  room  was  simply  furnished,  and  much  of 
its  limited  space  taken  up  by  a  square  carved  oak 
centre  table,  filled  with  drawers,  upon  which 
rested  some  huge  folios  of  manuscript  books  piled 
in  good  order,  for  even  in  little  things  there  was 
system  with  this  great  organizer. 

Beside  these  ledgers  were  blank  sheets  of 
writing  paper,  and  a  large  bronze  inkstand  in 
which  was  dipped  ready  for  use,  a  goose  quill  pen. 

The  books  held  records  of  much  that,  would 
make  obscure  points  of  modern  history  clear,  but 
being  constantly  interspersed  with  the  Masonic 
alphabet  used  by  Secret  Societies  to  veil  their  pur- 
poses, would,  if  captured  by  the  police,  have  given 
but  illusive  information  to  the  uninitiated. 

Leaning  slightly,  with  elbow  resting  on  the  top 


THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY.  187 

of  a  high  backed  oaken  chair  that  was  near  the 
table,  stood  the  Grand  Master  of  the  Carbonari 
and  the  brain  leader  of  revolutionary  Europe,  the 
wonderful  man  whose  history  transcends  romance. 
The  son  of  a  respectable  physician  of  Genoa,  and 
of  a  mother  from  whom  he  inherited  great  aspira- 
tions and  extraordinary  breadth  of  character, 
he  gave  in  early  youth  evidence  of  surprising 
genius. 

As  a  student  at  the  University  of  Genoa,  then 
an  advocate,  then  editor  of  a  radical  paper,  he 
showed  remarkable  talent,  but  made  himself  ob- 
noxious to  the  established  government. 

At  twenty-two  he  joined  the  Carbonari,  and  at 
once  found  there  the  needed  environment  for  the 
expansion  of  his  peculiar  gifts  for  intrigue. 

Condemned  to  the  gallows  by  Carlo  Alberto  for 
inciting  political  revolution,  then  exiled,  im- 
prisoned, and  by  a  sudden  turn  of  affairs  elected 
by  a  secret  assembly  one  of  a  Triumvir  of  Rome. 
Then  later  on,  when  Rome  was  guarded  by 
French  troops,  escaping  by  means  of  an  English 
passport,  and  emigrating  to  London,  where  unit- 
ing the  proscribed  of  all  countries,  and  under  the 
tacit  protection  of  Lord  John  Russell  and  Pal- 


188  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

merston  of  the  British  ministry,  he  formed  the 
"  Central  Committee  of  European  Democracy." 

Sanguinary  popular  tumults,  such  as  that  of 
Milan  in  1853,  insurrections  at  Genoa,  Livorna 
and  Naples,  were  successively  attributed  to  his 
Machiavellian  genius. 

We  now  find  him  in  1859,  this  founder  of 
"  young  Italy,"  this  man  of  unyielding  fanaticism, 
ever  dominated  by  an  inflexible  hatred  of  royalty 
and  the  Church,  using  with  matchless  skill  all  the 
forces,  of  the  world's  Secret  Societies  which  he 
had  at  his  command,  to  enforce  his  conspiracies. 

He  was  a  Deist  and  absolutely  without  moral 
principle,  an  astonishing  embodiment  of  malefic 
intellect  and  diabolic  idealism. 

Like  the  first  Napolean  who  also  made  use  of 
Secret  Societies  as  a  means  to  compass  his  ends, 
there  was  no  limit  to  the  evil  forces  he  might  have 
unchained,  had  success  crowned  his  utmost  grasp. 

As  incarnations  of  vigorous,  unscrupulous,  far- 
reaching  mentality,  aiding  restless  ambition,  these 
two  men  must  ever  stand  as  monumental  prodi- 
gies of  human  genius,  directed  through  hidden 
channels  to  evil  ends. 

Mazzini  in  1860,  at  the  time  we  write  about, 


THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY.  189 

was  fifty-two  years  of  age,  and  consequently  as  to 
years  at  his  prime,  but  the  consuming  fires  within, 
had  rapidly  exhausted  his  vitality,  and  as  he  stood 
before  his  friend,  after  the  first  warm  greeting, 
deep  lines  of  thought  marked  his  careworn  visage. 

The  expression  of  his  eyes  was  introverted  as  of 
one  who  sought  counsel  from  an  inner  conscious- 
ness, and  from  the  high  tribunal  of  his  own 
superior  intellectuality,  directed  the  ways  of  men. 

He  was  tall,  rather  angular,  but  of  flexible  easy 
grace^  and  he  had  that  dome-like  shape  of  head 
broadening  out,  that  is  so  often  seen  in  men  of 
exalted  talent. 

His  pronounced  aquiline  nose  was  suggestive 
of  the  eagle's  beak,  and  the  heavy  under  jaw  be- 
tokened inflexible  will  power. 

How  was  it  that  those  who  loved  Mazzini  wor- 
shipped him  ? 

This  influence  was  a  kind  of  hypnotic  grasp  in 
which  he  held  subject,  those  who  came  within  the 
personal  magnetism  of  his  domineering  determi- 
nation. 

Adonhiram  was  a  man  of  fixed  purpose,  a  leader 
of  men,  a  born  revolutionist,  one  who  had  in- 
herited insubordination  of  temperament. 


190  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

But  Adonhiram  was  led  by  Mazzini,  and  by 
Mazzini  alone,  and  seemingly  of  his  own  accept- 
ance, growing  out  of  his  love  for  the  man. 

The  Italian  had  impressed  upon  this  strong  in- 
dividuality, his  own  unequaled,  overmastering,  in- 
exorable will. 

Addressing  Adonhiram  with  the  usual  Carbonari 
term  of  comradeship,  he  said  : 

"  Good  Cousin,  like  the  stormy  petrel  you  reap- 
pear upon  the  horizon  as  harbinger  of  the  near- 
coming  tempest;  thrice  welcome. 

"  We  are  about  to  renew  the  glorious  epochs  of 
1789,  1830,  and  1848  ;  to  add  1860  to  this  bright 
constellation  and  to  show  how  in  the  continuity 
of  events,  all  revolutions  are  born  of  the  same 
parents,  animated  by  the  same  spirit. 

"  The  « titanic  dream,'  the  '  Unity  of  Italy  ' 
matures  to  its  realization.  Well  has  Danton  said, 
'  de  Pandace,  encore  de  Vaudace^  et  tovjours  de 
Vaudace? 

"  As  the  opportunities  take  shape,  we  shall  make 
sure,  good  Cousin,  to  execute  the  laws  of  fatality. 
After  the  harvest  ripens  one  will  no  longer  judge 
kings  but  kill  them." 

"But   Master   and   friend,"  interrupted   Adon- 


THE  SECRET   DIRECTORY.  191 

hiram  startled,  "  that  is  the  law  of  the  Commune, 
the  law  of  dynamite." 

"  You  mistake  me/'  said  Mazzini,  his  brow  dark- 
ening, "I  hate  Socialism,  I  ubhor  the  Com- 
mune. 

"  The  true  principles  of  Masonry  find  their 
scientific,  their  philosophic  development  in  the  up- 
heavel  of  government  and  religion,  because  these 
are  shackles  to  cast  off.  We  must  be  free,  but  we 
do  not  accept  the  brutal  sequences  of  Socialism, 
Communism,  anarchy,  nihilism." 

"Yet  how  are  we  to  guard  against  the  degrad- 
ing outcome  ?  "  hesitatingly  asked  Adonhiram, 

Mazzini's  eye  kindled  as  if  in  anger,  as  he  darted 
upon  his  co  conspirator  a  keen,  investigating 
look. 

"Good  Cousin,"  he  said  slowly,  "it  is  evident 
you  have  breathed  your  native  air  of  freedom. 
But  between  us  there  can  be  no  dissensions. 

"  In  the  great  future  that  is  so  near  at  hand, 
only  three  or  four  men  will  hold  the  cards.  Let 
us  fraternize  and  rule  as  one,  while  as  many  more 
may  think  they  govern  as  choose  to  do  so,"  and  he 
smiled  as  he  added  in  his  own  most  winning  way: 
"  What  we  have  to  guard  against  is  strife  from 


192  THE  SECRET  DIRECTORY. 

within,  rather  than  enemies  from  without.     Ton 
are  my  friend,  I  know  I  can  trust." 

No  one  ever  resisted  that  magnetic  charm,  nor 
did  Adonhiram,  for  he  warmly  cried  out,  "  True, 
dear  Master  as  the  needle  to  the  pole." 

Mazzini's  strained  look  relaxed,  for  he  knew  he 
had  not  expended  that  odic  force  in  vain.     He  re 
sumed  a  frank  cordial  aspect  of  intimacy,  as  he 
said  : 

''  Between  us  are  no  secrets.  I  shall  speak 
openly.  There  are  comrades  in  our  very  midst  to 
be  closely  watched. 

"  There  is  Bakounine.  I  believe  the  fellow  to 
be  a  spy  of  Russia.  He  organizes,  he  is  seemingly 
zealous,  but  his  plans  are  but  anarchistic  traps  that 
lead  to  an  agrarian  Commune. 

"  There  is  Karl  Marx,  with  a  dangerous  ac- 
tivity that  only  tends  to  disorganize.  Weishaupt 
with  his  fine  theories  of  the  autonomy  of  the  in- 
dividual and  absolute  atheism  is  not  so  harmful. 
All  these  men  are  with  us  so  far  as  they  dream 
only  of  revolution. 

"  It  is  not  our  business  to  guard  morality,  but 
to  prevent  divisions. 

"  Ah,  how  difficult  this  task,"  and  with  a  pro- 


THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY.  193 

found  sigh  he  leaned  back  in  his  chair  beside 
which  he  had  been  standing,  as  a  momentary  col- 
lapse as  of  intense  discouragement  seemed  to  over- 
come him. 

"  Yet,"  in  an  instant  he  continued  with  de- 
cision, "we  have  but  one  aim,  'young  Italy' 
God  and  the  People ;  but  we  know  that  God  is 
the  People." 

And  again  that  sinister  smile. 

"But  time  presses.  Pray,  good  Cousin,  give 
me  the  facts  of  the  American  mission.  I  believe 
you  were  known  as  Adonhiram." 

"  I  am  well  content  with  the  results  of  my 
mission,''  replied  Adonhiram. 

"  I  found  the  Lodges  rapidly  increasing  in  num- 
ber and  influence,  well  conducted  and  holding 
fast  to  the  ancient  landmarks  of  good  discipline. 
The  popular  mind  in  the  United  States  has  been 
well  prepared  by  Masonry  to  endorse  all  our  pro- 
posed movements  regarding  the  unification  of 
Italy.  When  the  outburst  comes,  America  will 
be  found  in  sympathy." 

"  Sympathy  in  revolution  means  help.  It  is 
well,  and  exactly  as  I  expected  of  you,"  said  Maz- 
zini,  "  and  presently,  after  this  movement,  as  we 
13 


194  THE    SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

near  the  centred  point  of  Rome,  we  can  organize 
in  the  United  States  '  a  universal  Republican  Alli- 
ance.' 

"  But  did  you  prepare  the  way  in  other  things, 
good  cousin  ?  " 

""  I  did,"  said  Adonhiram.  "  I  agitated  the  sub- 
ject of  our  Freemasons'  schools,  that  is,  I  pointed 
out  the  advantage  of  compulsory  state  education, 
that  suppresses  all  religious  instruction,  and  of 
the  excellence  of  youth  dominating  in  a  virile 
Republic.  Nor  did  I  forget  to  advocate  the 
schools  of  both  sexes." 

"  You  did  right,"  exclaimed  Mazzini,  "  the  prin- 
ciple was  recognized  as  far  back  as  Robespierre, 
who  insisted  upon  primary  schools  of  both  sexes 
and  all  ages." 

"  I  was  also  careful,"  continued  Adonhiram, 
"in  all  my  speeches  made  to  the  Chapters,  who 
were  everywhere  convened  to  meet  me,  to  enforce 
our  ruling  dogmas  of  solidarity,  of  humanitarian- 
ism,  of  cosmopolitanism. 

"  I  explained  that  these  were  the  true  Masonic 
ideas  and  contrasted  sharply  their  breadth,  with 
the  narrowness  of  that  tie  binding  only  to  one's 
country,  called  patriotism. 


THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY.  195 

"  The  Mason,  I  told  them  again  and  again, 
knows  no  country,  he  knows  only  universal  broth- 
erhood, and  I  dwelt  upon  the  fact  that  in  war, 
Masons  must  always  meet  as  brothers,  even  were 
they  in  the  act  of  mortal  combat.  I  sought  thus 
to  uproot  that  so-called  patriotism  which  is  strong 
in  American  hearts,  and  in  place  of  a  narrow  love 
of  country  and  one's  native  land,  to  implant  our 
higher  and  broader  creed  of  universal  republican- 
ism." 

"Well  done,"  said  Mazzini,  approvingly,  "good 
seed  in  good  soil  must  bring  forth  a  prolific  har- 
vest. But  what  of  that  great  power  of  first  mag- 
nitude in  a  free  country,  the  Press  ?  " 

"  There  was  not  much  for  me  to  do  in  that  di- 
rection," answered  Adonhiram,  hesitatingly. 

"  Having  formerly  been  one  of  the  guild,  I  had 
ready  access  among  journalists. 

"  I  found  them,  as  a  class,  a  more  high-minded 
body  of  men  by  far  than  the  politicians ;  and 
more  liberal-minded  to  accept  new  issues  in  a 
spirit  of  fair  discussion. 

"  Yet,  I  must  confess,  that  I  was  disappointed 
after  all.  The  Press  fails  to  grasp  to  the  full 
measure  its  opportunities." 


196  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

"  How  so  ?  "  asked  Mazzini. 

"  It  is  curious,"  said  Adonhiram,  reflectively, 
"  but  journalism  in  America  fails  to  lead  public 
opinion  as  it  should  do. 

"  It  is  a  good  exponent  of  popular  ideas,  and 
follows  with  accuracy  and  admirable  talent  the  in- 
dications of  the  actual  state  of  public  sentiment. 
But  it  does  not  form  the  national  policy,  nor  re- 
form or  initiate  its  movements. 

"  I  can  not  quite  understand  in  what  consists 
the  restraining  power. 

"  I  was  repeatedly  surprised  when  availing  my- 
self of  my  signal  advantages,  I  would  venture  to 
expostulate  in  this  matter,  with  this  or  that  great 
paper  or  magazine.  I  was  invariably  answered  : 
'  Our  clientele  wish  so  and  so,'  or,  '  All  that  does 
very  well  and  may  be  true,  but  it  is  an  idea  over 
the  heads  of  our  subscribers,'  or,  '  Our  paper  is 
upheld  by  a  large  class  of  patrons  who  think  dif- 
ferently.' 

"  One  sees  that  journalism  carried  on  in  this 
way,  is  an  exponent  of  whatever  class  it  may  se- 
lect to  represent,  but  in  no  case  ever  becomes  a 
leader  of  public  opinion." 


THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY.  197 

"  Can  it  be  possible,"  asked  Mazzini,  "  that  our 
figment,  the  vox  populi,  really  leads  ?  " 

"  Not  at  all,"  replied  Adonhiram,  "  America 
has  her  great  men,  who  are  something  more  than 
mere  organizers,  for  they  really  control." 

"  In  such  case,"  said  Mazzini,  "  I  see  no  reason 
why  our  organization  should  not  prevail  in  Amer- 
ica to  the  needed  extent.  American  institutions 
must  readily  lend  themselves  to  revolutionary  agi- 
tation. 

"  But  what  of  the  women  of  the  country  ? 
Have  Androgynous  Lodges  yet  been  formed  ? 
Are  women  satisfied  with  a  purely  domestic  life?" 

"  Masonry  in  America,"  said  Adonhiram, 
"  would  not  as  yet  tolerate  the  female  lodges, 
with  the  peculiar  rites  they  introduce. 

"  The  matrons  of  the  country,  as  a  majority,  do 
not  ask  for  broader  privileges  than  those  grnnted 
them,  but  there  exists  an  agitation  and  a  restless- 
ness among  many  women  that  must  ultimately 
favor  our  designs." 

"  It  is  indeed  well,"  said  Mazzini.  "  We  must 
at  some  time  make  a  special  crusade  in  order  to 
change  the  present  status  of  women  in  America, 
for  there  are  no  better  agitators,  once  excited. 


198  THE   SECRET    DIRECTORY. 

And  now,"  said  Mazzini,  "  for  our  work  here.  At 
this  very  hour  the  whirlwind  we  have  sown  is  a 
ripe  harvest  of  destruction. 

"  Sicily  is  in  the  throes  of  revolution,"  he  ex- 
claimed triumphantly.  "  Jacques  Molay's  ashes 
will  once  again  be  avenged,  for  another  Bourbon 
is  about  to  fall. 

"  Yet,"  he  added,  sadly  after  a  pause,  "  the  com- 
ing victory  is  incomplete,  for  to  gain  this  point  we 
have  to  make  concessions  with  a  constitutional 
monarchy ;  the  star  of  the  dynasty  of  Savoy  is  for 
the  nonce  in  the  ascendant.  At  first,  we  must  ac- 
cept the  Italian  Unity  under  Victor  Emanuel, 
who  will  stand  back  of  us  in  this  spoliation  of 
lesser  powers. 

"  Garibaldi  will  come  to  the  front,  for  he,  the 
intellectual  nullity,  is  the  popular  idol. 

"  But  the  brains  will  move  the  automaton," 
and  thus  saying,  Mazzini  smiled  cynically  as  he 
tapped  his  forehead  with  significance. 

There  was  silence.  After  a  pause  Mazzini  re- 
sumed. 

"  The  daybreak  of  the  Grand  Orient  is  at  hand. 
1789  will  be  remembered  as  child's  play  compared 
with  what  is  to  come. 


THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY.  199 

"  By  means  of  a  complete  organization,  that 
barnacle  called  faith,  must  be  wiped  out ;  by  the 
skillful  use  of  the  passions  of  men,  some  embodi- 
ment of  such  a  dream  of  universal  domination  :is 
the  first  Napoleon  had,  may  still  be  incarnated, 
something  that  will  realize  what  Rome  may  be 
pleased  to  call  the  coining  of  Anti  Christ.  If  so 
be,  a  religion  of  Satan,  that  will  upset  superstition." 

Adonhiram  thought  that  he  loved  Mazzini,  and 
he  most  assuredly  revered  his  grandeur  of  concep- 
tion, but  at  that  moment  he  recalled  the  sublime 
enthusiasm  of  two  other  men,  the  Martyr  and  the 
Monk,  and  the  involuntary  comparison  was  not 
favorable  to  his  chief. 

He  was  willing  to  put  forth  his  utmost  strength 
in  behalf  of  the  Master,  he  would  work  for  a 
United  Italy,  yet  there  was  a  limit  beyond  which 
he  could  not  pass. 

And  he  made  answer,  "  In  so  much  as  I  can  do, 
I  am  ready  to  assist  my  old  Captain,  Garibaldi. 
What  is  to  be  my  role  ?  " 

"  Much,  much,"  exclaimed  the  Grand  Master. 

"  You  are  needed  everywhere. 

"  The  King  is  a  moral  coward.  Cavour,  I  de- 
test. Garibaldi  must  have  every  plan  prepared 


200  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

for  him,  and  get  all  the  credit  when  he  comes 
down  like  a  Saxon  battle  axe  with  that  brute 
force  he  wields. 

"  In  the  first  place,  your  nautical  skill  is  needed, 
your  experience  as  a  sailor. 

"  There  are  vessels  now  ready  to  transport 
troops  to  Sicily,  that  are,  as  a  blind,  spoken  of  as 
a  squadron  going  to  Montevideo ;  for  suspicion 
must  be  disarmed. 

"  You  are  required  in  your  capacity  of  Ameri- 
can citizen,  not  only  to  take  charge  of  the  revolu- 
tionary squadron,  but  to  devise  means  in  conse- 
quence of  your  citizenship,  to  enlist  the  United 
States  government  de  facto,  as  partisans  in  this 
holy  cause  of  young  Italy  and  crusade  against  the 
Papacy. 

"And  when  this  Sicilian  Expedition  will  have 
gained  Sicily  for  Victor  Emanuel,  there  will  still 
be  other  revolutionary  work,  which  we  may  here 
in  England  plan  and  carry  out.  by  the  continued 
secret  connivance  of  Palmerston  and  Lord  John 
Russell. 

"  One  very  vexatious  thing,  is  the  money  ques- 
tion ;  which,  ignoble  as  it  is,  means  much  to  us, 
unfortunately. 


THE  SECRET   DIRECTORY.  201 

"The  Jews  must  help  us  in  that.  Do  not  for- 
get when  you  are  in  Rome,  that  the  Beni-Berita 
there,  is  a  supreme  revolutionary  Tribunal. 

"  The  symbolical  reconstruction  of  the  Temple 
of  Solomon,  that  the  Masons  have  for  centuries 
been  engaged  in,  means  the  Judiazation  of  Chris- 
tianity. 

"  The  Jews  understand  this  very  well,  and  build 
great  hopes  upon  it.  They  are  always  looking 
forward  to  its  near  fulfillment. 

"  Did  not  the  Jews  in  Germany  proclaim  that 
the  First  Napoleon  was  the  Messiah  of  deliver- 
ance ?  " 

"  Had  they  said  Anti-Christ,"  suggested  Adon- 
hiram,  "  it  would  have  been  nearer  right." 

"  Their  highest  grade,"  continued  Mazzini,  "  the 
grade  of  Misraim,  clearly  sets  forth  this  expecta- 
tion in  their  rites. 

"  In  fact,"  said  the  Master,  "  so  deep-rooted  is 
this  infatuation,  that  at  times  it  makes  me  very 
uncomfortable." 

"  Why  should  the  superstitions  of  these  people 
concern  us?  "  asked  Adonhiram. 

"Because,"  replied  Mazzini,  "the  Secret  Com- 
mittees are  governed  in  great  part  by  Jews  who 


202  THE    SECRET    DIEECTORY. 

are  unknown  to  the  masses  of  Masons,  but  who 
use  our  societies  to  bring  about  what  they  are 
pleased  to  call, 'the  redemption  of  Israel.'  Nor 
can  we  do  without  these  bigots  for  we  must  have 
funds." 

"  It  would  seem,"  remarked  Adonhiram,  "  that 
although  we  are  all  working  together,  yet  we  have 
different  aims." 

"  After  all,"  replied  the  Master  drily,  "  the  world 
is  never  governed  by  those  who  are  ostensibly  its 
leaders. 

"  Yet,  this  is  but  the  beginning. 

"  The  insurrection  to  succeed  must  be  general. 
It  must  take  place  in  Hungary,  Poland,  the 
Danubian  provinces,  and  above  all  Venice  is  an 
objective  point.  My  emissaries  are  ever}:where  at 
work,  and  we  will  lead  to  a  Universal  Republican 
Democracy." 

He  closed  his  eyes  as  if  to  take  in  the  whole 
situation  more  clearly,  and  continued,  "  We  have 
nothing  to  fear  from  France  ;  for  has  not  my  good 
Cousin  Napoleon,  obliged  himself  to  become  the 
testamentary  executor  of  Orsini,  whose  father  first 
put  him  under  bonds  as  a  Carbonaro.  The  fifteen 
months  of  grace  that  we  gave  my  Cousin,  in  which 


THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY.  203 

to  prepare  events  for  the  Unity  of  Italy  is  at  an 
end. 

"  The  interview  that  I  had  with  the  Emperor  in 
'58  must  be  still  fresh  in  his  Majesty's  mind,"  re- 
marked Adonhiram  derisively.  "  Eugenie  was 
present  toward  the  close  of  our  conversation,  and 
upon  being  told  by  the  Emperor  that  T  was  of  the 
Secret  Directory  of  the  Grand  Orient,  she  very 
naively  inquired  if  there  was  no  danger  in  being 
closeted  with  a  revolutionist.  Doubtless  remem- 
bering the  recent  incident  of  Orsini. 

"  The  Emperor  smiled  and  said,  '  Orsini  was 
one  of  us,  and  he  found  my  star  in  the  as- 
cendant.' ' 

"  And  yet,"  suggested  Mazzini,  "  she  must  in 
her  early  youth  have  been  familiar  witli  the 
presence  of  members  of  Secret  Societies,  for 
the  house  of  Montijo  was  headquarters  of  Free- 
masonry, and  of  revolutionary  plots  as  well,  so  it 
is  said." 

And  both  friends  laughed  at  some  strain  of 
recollection  common  to  both. 

"When  do  you  go?"  asked  Mazzini,  abruptly. 

"At  once,"  said  Adonhiram.  "Earth  has  no 
ties  to  trammel  my  movements.  I  am  a  true 


204  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

High  Priest  of  Masonry,  and  like  a  priest  who  has 
a  higher  mission,  a  celibate  for  a  holy  cause,  and 
unshackled." 

"  Then  go,"  said  the  Grand  Master  with  effusion, 
"oh,  Adonhiram  the  Master  to  revenge,  and  may 
the  glory  of  a  sacred  cause  lead  you  onward,  even 
as  a  pillar  of  fire  by  day  and  by  night." 

So  praying  and  again  giving  each  other  the 
triple  embrace,  these  two  conspirators  parted. 

As  the  door  closed  upon  the  stately  retreating 
form  of  Adonhiram,  Mazzini,  who  was  not  in  good 
bodily  health,  sank  back  into  his  chair  with  an  air 
of  ineffable  weariness.  The  flush  of  enthusiasm 
subsided  and  was  succeeded  by  a  deadly  pallor. 

"  I  do  not  half  like  certain  moods  of  my  good 
Cousin,"  soliloquized  he.  "  He  may  not  himself 
know  it,  but  there  is  something  that  stands  in  the 
way  of  his  ultimate  performance. 

"  Can  it  be  possible  that  my  friend  is  encumbered 
with  a  conscience  ? 

"  Can  he  never  understand  the  true  meaning  of 
a  future  life,  according  to  the  splendid  definition 
of  Michelet,  to  be, '  the  supreme  individualization.' 
Glorious  thought,  that  we  are  as  Gods  unto  our- 
selves ;  and  as  to  that  great  all-omniverous 


THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY.  205 

being  they  call  God,  that  Pan,  why,  never-ending 
war. 

"  I  must  look  more  closely  to  the  direction  of 
the  Lodges,  and  affiliate  them  with  the  Grand 
Orient  of  Palermo. 

"  Blessed  be  the  day  when  United  Italy  can 
stand  alone,  without  the  hateful  aid  of  English, 
French  or  Americans. 

"And  if  seas  of  blood  will  hasten  the  deliver- 
ance, let  them  roll."  Then,  he  seemed  to  sleep. 

Thus  ever  was  Joseph  Mazzini,  cold,  perfidious, 
and  sanguinary. 


206  THE   SECRET    DIRECTORY. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE   HOBBERY    OF    A   KINGDOM. 

THE  pseudonym  of  Adonhiram,  of  whose  mis. 
sion  to  America  we  have  given  glimpses,  was 
used  because  indicative  of  a  Masonic  high  degree, 
but  was  not  the  name  by  which  he  was  known  to 
the  Secret  Directory  as  one  of  their  members. 

Ever  concealing  himself  behind  a  self-imposed 
mask,  he  was  recognized  among  his  trans-Atlantic 
conspirators,  as  "the  Admiral."  At  times  he  also 
bore  the  illustrious  name  of  a  maternal  ancestor, 
but  never  amid  the  vicissitudes  of  a  feverish 
career,  was  his  noble  paternal  lineage  divulged. 

In  the  course  of  this  narrative  he  will  be  hence- 
forth spoken  of  by  that  cognomen  of  "the  Ad- 
miral," by  which  he  was  best  known.  His  man- 
ner of  life  might  have  been  enfolded  in  one  word, 
mystery. 

Thus  his  length  of  years  ran  their  wandering 
measure  like  those  shifting  seashore  sands  which, 


THE    ROBBERY    OF    A    KINGDOM.  207 

here  to-day  and  gone  to-morrow,  leave  no  linger- 
ing trace  to  mark  their  onward  sweep. 

His  existence  was  a  swirl  of  motion  without  re- 
pose. 

Belonging  to  all  climes  he  had  mastered  all 
tongues. 

He  scoffed  at  a  career  of  monotonous  phases, 
took  all  odds,  dared  all  hazards,  and  ever  held  his 
own  life-  as  a  shuttlecock  to  be  tossed  hither  and 
thither  against  the  contending  winds  of  outra- 
geous fortune. 

Encased  in  the  triple  armor  wrought  by  the 
forces  of  a  vigorous  mentality,  great  physical 
strength  and  dominant  will,  he  was  a  power. 

He  really  was,  that  which  a  Mason  claims  to  be, 
a  cosmopolite. 

And  yet  at  heart  he  was  loyal  to  America,  and 
willing  to  forego  the  rank,  emoluments,  and  privi- 
leges, attendant  upon  royal  favor,  rather  than 
give  up  the  still  more  highly  prized  title  of  an 
American  citizen. 

His  moods,  like  his  life,  were  kaleidoscopic. 
One  day  foremost  in  brunt  of  battle,  perchance 
the  very  next  day  an  absorbed  student  of  some 
complex  mathematical  problem. 


208  THE   SECRET    DIRECTORY. 

Then  again  a  Naval  commander,  and  perchance 
retiring  from  the  quarter-deck  to  elaborate  an  in- 
ventive thought  that  may  have  been  forced  upon 
his  teeming  brain  amid  the  very  heat  of  action. 

Nor  is  this  picture  a  highly  wrought  limning  of 
the  imagination,  for  this  man  actually  played  a 
more  varied  role  than  can  well  be  described. 

He  was  of  the  Army  and  of  the  Navy,  had 
taken  courses  of  medical  lectures  as  well  as  a  hos- 
pital training,  and  had  acquired  legal  lore,  es- 
pecially as  applied  to  questions  of  international 
law. 

Then  ever  and  anon  in  the  lull  of  revolutionary 
turbulence,  like  Mazzini,  he  was  wont  to  become 
a  journalist,  wielding  a  weighty  pen  in  the  propa- 
gation of  the  Masonic  creed,  writing  trenchant 
articles  on  various  subjects,  such  as:  "Compul- 
sory Education,"  "  Law  compelling  Labor,"  "Abo- 
lition of  Law  of  Entail,"  "  Abolition  of  Death 
Penalty,"  "  No  Wills  nor  Testamentary  Divi- 
sions," "  Absolute  Liberty  for  all  Creeds,  But  no 
Religion  to  be  Taught,"  "Easy  Divorce,"  "Women 
to  have  equal  Public  Life  with  Men,"  "Androgy- 
nous Lodges,"  etc.,  etc. 

These,  and  various  phases  of  the  labor  problem, 


THE  ROBBERY  OP  A  KINGDOM.      209 

as  well  as  other  most  intricate  questions  of  Sociol- 
ogy,  occupied  his  pen,  and  were  treated  with 
subtle  skill  from  the  Masonic  standpoint  of  pagan 
ethics. 

The  Admiral,  although  a  bundle  of  inconsisten- 
cies, was  of  the  best  type  of  the  modern  revolu- 
tionist ;  with  an  active  brain,  an  ardent  soul,  and 
a  wavering  conscience  that  floated  him  he  knew 
not  whither,  without  compass. 

Bound  by  a  creed  that  made  him  worship  the 
Eijo  without  knowing  it,  because  its  religion  was 
individualism. 

His  imagination  was  filled  with  an  inchoate 
mass  of  undigested  theories  looking  to  the  eleva- 
tion of  humanity,  but  based  upon  impossible  con- 
ditions, and  bearing  in  them  no  real  redemptive 
qualities. 

Strange  infatuation  to  wish  to  redeem  humanity 
and  begin  by  setting  aside  the  Redeemer ! 

Incoherently  sowing  the  whirlwind  with  his 
right  hand,  the  while  perchance  doing  gentle  acts 
of  kindness  to  the  needy  with  his  left,  and  plot- 
ting destruction  in  order  to  rebuild.  Re-create 
upon  what?  Sophisms,  fallacies.  Such  was  the 
bosom  friend  of  Mazzini,  and  the  whilom  aid  of 


210  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

Garibaldi;  the  boasted  cosmopolite  who  loved  to 
claim  American  citizenship. 

Truly,  in  those  days,  in  revolutionary  Europe, 
it  was  a  very  convenient  thing  to  be  an  American 
citizen  ! 

Other  conspirators  tried  the  trick,  and  Gari- 
baldi, Crispi,  Avezzana,  and  nearly  all  these 
Italian  leaders  had  ready  American  passports,  so 
as  to  claim  American  protection,  if  caught!  Gab- 
bato  il  santo ! 

But  of  all  these  leaders  not  one  was  so  dan- 
gerous as  Mazzini. 

The  Admiral,  for  instance,  had  naturally  a 
warm  heart,  and  the  infirmitj^  of  a  quick,  hot  tem- 
per, which  at  times  got  beyond  his  control,  and 
misled  his  judgment. 

Then  being  sincere,  his  diabolism  was  not  a  cold 
abstraction,  as  was  that  of  his  friend. 

His  mistaken  acts  rather  proceeded  from  that 
revolt  of  pride  against  authority,  that  fosters  an 
untrammelled  will. 

The  Admiral's  work  for  Italy  had  commenced 
when  he  went  to  Rome  in  1849,  a  bearer  of  dis- 
patches to  Mr.  Cass,  United  States  Minister,  di- 
recting him  to  intervene  with  Oudinot  in  favor  of 


THE  ROBBERY  OF  A  KINGDOM.      211 

the  Roman  Republic,  and  thus  he  did  good  work 
at  that  time  as  a  Carbonaro,  for  United  Italy. 

Previous  to  these  events  he  had  been  an  aid 
of  Garibaldi,  helping  him  at  Montevideo,  in  1846. 

When  in  the  November  following  this  mission 
to  Rome,  being  on  board  an  American  man-of- 
war,  off  Gibraltar,  Garibaldi,  Stagnetti  and  others 
arrived,  fleeing  from  Rome,  and  were  ordered 
away  from  the  Rock  by  General  Sir  Robert 
Gardiner,  the  Governor,  the  Admiral  took  them 
on  board  the  United  States  frigate,  the  Ports- 
mouth, where  the  Commodore  at  his  instance, 
gave  them  the  protection  of  the  American  flag. 

He  thus  saved  the  lives  of  these  hunted  fugi- 
tives, and  for  this  service  he  received  the  follow- 
ing note  of  thanks : 

"  GIBRALTAR,  FEBRUARY  8,  1849. 

"DEAR    *    *    * 

"  I  beg  you  to  accept  my  grateful 
thanks  for  your  kindness,  and  also  please  thank 
the  Commodore  for  his  protection  under  the 
American  flag. 

"  Your  devoted 

"  G.  GARIBALDI."  * 

*This  is  a  verbatim  copy  of  a  letter  sent  by  Garibaldi. 


212  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

The  intervening  period  had  been  full  of  hard 
work  and  now  another  harvest  was  ready  after  all 
the  busy  preparation ;  a  fresh  outburst,  the  crisis 
of  the  downfall  of  another  Bourbon. 

What  open  part  was  the  Admiral  now  as- 
signed? 

Mazzini,  as  perfect  Master  of  the  Masonic  chess- 
board, saw  at  once  where  to  place  him. 

When  shortly  after  the  interview  of  the  two 
friends  in  London,  and  in  pursuance  of  the  plan 
then  formed,  the  Admiral  repaired  to  Genoa,  Gari- 
baldi had  already  landed  in  Sicily,  where  he  was 
besieging  Palermo  with  a  very  inadequate  force 
and  the  daily  risk  of  defeat. 

Disaster  just  then  would  probably  have  put  an 
end  to  the  hopes  of  Sardinia  and  the  unification  of 
Italy. 

The  situation  was  fraught  with  danger  and  no 
time  to  be  lost. 

Two  things  were  to  be  made  use  of  in  placing 
the  Admiral  at  this  critical  moment :  the  well- 
known  nautical  skill  of  the  man,  and  his  American 
citizenship. 

In  the  now  impending  robbery  of  a  kingdom, 


THE  ROBBERY  OF  A  KINGDOM.      215 

these  qualities  were  two  important  factors  as  we 
shall  see. 

Upon  the  Admiral's  arrival  at  Genoa,  June 
6th,  he  repaired  at  once  to  the  Carbonari  Lodge, 
where  he  found  awaiting  him  an  accredited  and 
trusted 'agent  of  Garibaldi,  with  written  authority 
to  act  for  the  General. 

This  officer  was  an  old  acquaintance  as  he  had 
had  a  command  in  the  Roman  Navy,  in  1849,  at 
Civita-Vecchia. 

He  proposed  that  they  should  seek  the  unob- 
served quiet  of  Garibaldi's  quarters  at  Villa 
Spinola,  near  Genoa,  for  an  undisturbed  confer- 
ence, and  thither  they  repaired. 

As  they  approached  the  modest  villa,  the  Ad- 
miral's quick  eye  noted  its  admirable  adaptation 
for  Garibaldi's  purposes. 

He  paused  in  contemplation,  as  his  companion 
pointed  out  Marsala  Rock  at  Quarto,  near  the 
landing  and  just  jutting  out  from  the  shore  from 
which  Garibaldi  had  embarked  the  fifth  of  May 
1860,  for  Sicily.  Involuntarily  he  seated  himself 
upon  the  near  cliff  in  abstracted  thought. 

Gazing  at  this  place  of  embarkation,  which  like 
the  heading  of  a  new  revolutionary  chapter 


216  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

loomed  out,  whose  lurid  lettering  recalled  plots 
and  counterplots. 

The  ever  busy  and  more  capable  brain  of  Maz- 
zini  had  laid  the  train  which  the  executive  arm 
and  rude  force  of  Garibaldi  had  ignited  into  con- 
flagration. 

He  smiled  derisively  as  he  thought  of  the  vast 
difference  between  the  two  men,  both  of  whom  lie 
knew  so  well,  he,  their  co-conspirator. 

"  Have  I  not  reason  to  understand,"  he  solilo- 
quized, u  that  Garibaldi  uses  everybody  whom  lie 
encounters,  that  he  swallows  all  the  merit  and  the 
profit  of  the  work  which  others  do  for  him,  and 
leaves  no  meed  of  recognition  for  them  ? 

"  How  justly  Pio  Nono  measured  him,  when 
he  called  him  '  the  most  skillful  comedian  of  the 
age.' 

"And  he  succeeds,  this  Cagliostro  the  second, 
for  he  is  of  a  caliber  to  be  better  understood  by 
the  people  than  the  intellectual  Master. 

"  The  idiots  whom  he  spiders  into  his  web,  have 
not  the  sense  to  know  that  they  are  caught." 

In  the  excitement  of  these  distracting  thoughts 
he  suddenly  exclaimed,  "  A  curse  on  all  the  driv- 
elling cretins  and  hero  worshippers,  who  fill  every 


GARIBALDI'S  ROOM,  VILLA  SPINOLA.    QUARTO  NEAR  GENOA. 


THE  ROBBERY  OF  A  KINGDOM.      219 

corner  of  this  earth  with  their  senseless  enthusi- 
asm antagonizing  every  one,  and  everything,  that 
typifies  the  ideal." 

At  this  moment  the  Admiral  caught  the  fixed 
regard  of  his  associate  bent  upon  him,  whose  ex- 
pression betrayed  a  nascent  suspicion  that  his  ally 
must  suddenly  have  gone  crazy. 

Whereupon,  with  an  ironical  laugh,  the  Ad- 
miral arose  and  they  approached  the  villa. 

Its  only  occupant  then  was  the  Captain,  who 
now  led  thither  the  Admiral. 

It  is  a  curious  psychological  fact,  oft  repeated, 
that  when  the  mind  is  much  occupied  with  mat- 
ters of  deepest  moment,  the  eye  often  notes  inad- 
vertently, perhaps,  with  a  strange  particularity, 
surrounding  objects  that  are  in  themselves  most 
trivial. 

Thus  the  Admiral,  while  deeply  revolving  the 
situation  he  had  come  hither  to  discuss,  took,  as  it 
were,  an  involuntary  catalogue  of  the  apartment. 

He  had  seated  himself  on  an  upholstered  sofa 
which  was  placed  before  an  oval  table  near  the 
centre  of  the  room,  where  evidently  Garibaldi  did 
his  writing,  for  there  was  a  bronze  inkstand,  a 
candlestick  with  several  segars  carelessly  thrown 


220  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

on  its  base,  a  small  oval  box  for  matches,  while  u 
cap  and  cane,  three  books  and  various  papers  were 
confusedly  huddled  together. 

In  one  corner  of  the  room  was  a  washstand 
with  ewer,  basin  and  towels,  then  on  either  side 
of  the  sofa  were  classic  busts  surmounting  pedes 
tals. 

Some  small  pictures  adorned  the  walls,  and 
back  of  the  sofa  hung  a  goodly  sized  mirror,  that 
through  an  open  doorway  reflected  a  bed,  upon 
which  had  been  heedlessly  thrown  a  well-used 
Garibaldian  red  flannel  shirt. 

Seven  photo  cards  were  mechanically  counted, 
that  were  stuck  in  the  lower  part  of  the  mirror 
frame,  nor  did  a  large  tidy  pinned  over  the  back 
of  the  sofa,  betraying  a  feminine  hand,  escape  the 
casual  inventory. 

"  How  very  Italian  it  all  is,"  said  the  Admiral, 
"  confusion,  elegance,  art  and  women." 

"It  is  well  said  if  not  true,"  replied  the  Cap- 
tain, "  but  seriously,  Admiral,  you  come  to  us 
none  too  soon,  for  you  are  woefully  needed.  I 
am  deputed  to  confer  with  you,  not  only  by  the 
written  request  of  Garibaldi,  but  in  behalf  of  the 
different  patriotic  committees  of  Milan,  Brescia, 


THE   ROBBERY  OF  A  KINGDOM. 

and  Genoa,  for  we  must  have  your  instant  coop- 
eration to  get  away  from  Genoa  to  Sicily,  a  body 
of  three  thousand  five  hundred  men  enrolled 
under  Colonel  Medici,  to  whom  Garibaldi  on  leav- 
ing with  the  First  Expedition,  has  entrusted  the 
task  of  organizing  and  taking  down  the  Second 
Expedition." 

"I  am  aware,"  said  the  Admiral,  tersely,  "of 
some  of  the  complications. 

"  Garibaldi,  as  usual,  seems  to  have  had  more 
vigor  than  brains. 

"  As  might  have  been  expected  after  the  Gen- 
eral arrived  in  Sicily  and  his  partial  success,  the 
Bourbon  was  on  the  alert." 

"It  is  indeed  so,"  continued  the  Captain,  "a 
Neapolitan  squadron,  the  Fulminante,  and  several 
ships  under  Robert!  and  other  officers,  have  been 
ordered  to  cruise  from  Cape  Corso,  over  across  to 
Pionbino  channel,  so  as  to  intercept  any  reinforce- 
ments for  Garibaldi." 

"At  this  very  moment  you  are  doubtless  aware." 
interrupted  the  Admiral,  "  that  the  Fulminante 
and  some  frigates  are  cruising  outside  quite  near 
to  Genoa.  The  preparations  for  the  departure  of 


222  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

the  Second  Expedition,  being  known  and  carefully 
watched  outside  as  well  as  in  Genoa." 

"  And  this  is  the  very  point,"  answered  the 
Captain,  "  for  Medici  is  much  concerned  as  to  his 
best  course.  Thanks  to  the  intervention  of  the 
English  and  American  Naval  Commanders,  Gari- 
baldi has  succeeded  in  getting  a  short  armistice 
between  himself  and  the  Commander  of  the 
Neapolitan  troops  acting  against  him  in  Sicily." 

"  But  of  course,"  remarked  the  Admiral  drily, 
"  if  Medici  cannot  get  out,  the  end  of  the  truce 
will  find  the  General  overpowered  by  the  eight 
thousand  or  more  of  the  Royal  army  in  front  of 
him.  It  is  now  thirty-one  days  since  he  left  this 
port  for  Sicily.  Do  you  know  what  is  Garibaldi's 
actual  force  at  this  moment?" 

"  He  has,"  replied  the  Captain,  "  but  eight 
hundred  effective  men  left  out  of  his  original 
force  of  one  thousand.  Beside  these  troops, 
there  are  a  large  number  of  Picciotti  and  other 
Sicilian  raw  recruits." 

"These  last,"  remarked  the  Admiral,  "  are  of 
no  use  beyond  that  of  presenting  an  imposing  ap- 
pearance, and  in  face  of  regulars,  and  especially 
the  Swiss  marksmen  of  the  Bourbon,  of  no  use 


THE  BOBBERY  OP  A  KINGDOM.      223 

whatever.  That  was  all  that  was  expected  of 
them  when  our  agents  bribed  them  over. 

"Garibaldi  should  have  known  this,  for  in 
eighteen  hundred  and  forty-nine,  Poles,  Hungar- 
ians, English,  Americans,  in  a  word  foreigners, 
did  nearly  all  the  fighting,  while  the  Romans 
looked  on ;  or  those  whom  we  won  over  fought 
discreetly. 

"  Out  of  a  population  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
thousand  fighting  men  between  twenty  and  sixty 
years  of  age,  only  seven  or  eight  thousand  took 
part ;  the  rest  of  the  army  of  fourteen  thousand 
being  volunteers  of  other  cities  and  estranieri,  but 
of  Romans,  none." 

"  Then,"  interposed  the  Captain,  "  to  increase 
our  perplexities,  Garibaldi  has  no  money,  and  but 
scant  supplies  of  arms  and  ammunition,  and  no 
ships. 

"  Both  the  Lombardo  and  Piemonte  are  at 
Marsala,  the  one  sunk  and  the  machinery  of  the 
other  disabled.  It  is  true,  Garibaldi  holds  one 
part  of  Palermo,  but  the  enemy  still  have  all  the 
forts  which  command  the  city ;  as  well  as  Mes- 
sina, Melazzo,  and  all  the  fortified  places  and 


224  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

ports,  besides  having  a  large  fleet  of  men-of-war 
and  transports." 

"  And  your  five  committees,  I  dare  say,  are  as 
a  matter  of  course  at  loggerheads  among  them- 
selves," interjected  the  Admiral. 

"Dissensions  have  arisen,"  replied  the  Captain, 
"  between  Medici,  Chief  of  the  Ufizio  Militare  in 
Genoa,  and  the  different  administrative  and  finan- 
cial associations  which  were  contributing  to  the 
cause. 

"  The  */Z  Soccorso  a  Garibaldi,'  directed  by 
Bertani,  the  '  Societa  Nazionale '  of  Turin,  the 
4  Societa  Siciliano?  and  '  Casa  Centrale  di 
Genova,'  are  all  quarrelling. 

"  To  this,  add  the  altercations  among  the  various 
Piedmontese,  Lombard,  Genevese,  Venetian  and 
Sicilian  committees  as  to  which  shall  give  orders. 

"  Some  are  for  a  Republic,  some  for  Sicilian 
autonomy,  and  some  for  landing  in  the  Papal 
States." 

"  This  confusion  must  be  stopped,"  cried  the 
Admiral,  "it  prevents  concerted  action. 

"  I  am  an  American  citizen  and  have  no  Italian 
politics  to  uphold.  I  belong  to  none  of  their 
cliques. 


THE    ROBBERY   OF    A    KINGDOM.  225 

"  By  the  Gods,  I  shall  act"  he  exclaimed,  bring- 
ing his  clenched  fist  down  on  the  table  with  a 
force  that  rattled  off  Garibaldi's  cane  and  caused 
the  pen  in  the  bronze  inkstand  to  topple  over. 

"  The  sword  is  mightier  than  the  pen  this  time, 
Admiral,"  interjected  the  deep  voice  of  Medici, 
as  he  stood  in  the  doorway,  a  heavily  bearded 
man  of  sombre  aspect  and  furtive  look. 

"  I  bring  a  telegram  from  Garibaldi,"  he  con- 
tinued, "not  the  first  one  either,  to  let  us  know 
that  he  is  hard  pressed. 

"  I  have  actively  drilled  and  organized  my  vol- 
unteers, but  we  cannot  move.  Even  here  in 
Genoa,  the  Spanish  and  Neapolitan  Consuls  are 
watching  all  my  proceedings,  and  although  Gari- 
baldi is  secretly  acting  for  the  Sardinian  Govern- 
ment, they  are  compelled,  they  say,  to  forbid  my 
leaving  under  their  flag." 

"  Naturally,"  said  the  Admiral,  ironically,  "  since 
Sicily  and  Sardinia  happen  to  be  friendly  powers, 
and  Victor  Emanuel  and  Francesco  are  '  good 
Cousins '  though  not  exactly  in  the  Carbonari 
sense." 

But  the  conspirators  were  too  dejected  to  smile 
at  this  sally  and  the  two  men  only  earnestly  en- 
15 


226  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

treated,  saying,  "  At  this  most  critical  moment, 
Admiral,  we  look  to  you  for  succor." 

"  And,"  replied  he  solemnly,  "  in  the  name  of  a 
universal  brotherhood,  and  because  we  of  the 
Carbonari  have  a  common  sacred  cause,  you  shall 
have  my  life,  good  cousins,  if  need  be.  But  I 
must  first  make  my  conditions  clearly  understood. 

"  I  am  willing  to  undertake  to  run  the  Expedi- 
tion out  of  Genoa  to  Sicily,  if  I  am  given  chief 
command." 

"  You  shall  be  the  sole  and  chief  Commander," 
replied  Medici,  "  of  any  squadron  you  may  raise." 

"  And  I,"  said  the  Captain,  "  will  serve  under 
you,  if  you  will  give  me  command  of  one  of  your 
ships." 

"  Be  in  instant  readiness,  then,"  said  the  Ad- 
miral, very  calmly,  "  for  I  shall  sail  in  two  days." 

The  friends  exchanged  glances  of  amazed  sur- 
prise, as  the  Admiral  immediately  absorbed  in  the 
work  before  him,  hurriedly  left  the  room,  and 
hastened  back  to  Genoa.  The  fact  was,  that  hav- 
ing foreseen,  he  was  prepared  to  meet  just  such  a 
state  of  things  as  now  existed,  but  he  intended 
first  to  make  the  revolutionists  realize  their  de- 
pendence on  his  superior  skill  arid  resources. 


THE    ROBBERY   OF    A    KINGDOM.  227 

The  Admiral  had  private  means  which  he  had 
decided  to  use  at  this  hazardous  conjuncture,  so 
as  to  insure  the  immediate  success  of  so  important 
an  undertaking. 

Yet  he  fully  relied  on  the  kingly  faith  of  Vic- 
tor Emanuel  to  reimburse  these  pecuniary  losses 
after  the  acquisition  of  Sicily,  forgetting  that  he 
who  puts  his  faith  in  princes,  who  ignore  their 
own  treaty  obligations,  leans  upon  a  broken  reed. 

On  that  very  day,  Medici,  Origoni,  Guastalla 
and  other  parties  went  with  the  Admiral  to  the 
Consul  General  of  France  in  Genoa,  when  the 
French  steamships  Helvetic,  Amsterdam  and  Bel- 
zunce,  were  by  him  formally  transferred  to  the 
Admiral  as  an  American  citizen. 

They  then  all  repaired  to  the  United  States 
Consulate,  where  after  careful  examination,  and 
receipt  of  copies  for  filing  in  the  Consulate,  the 
American  Consul  delivered  to  the  Admiral  the 
bill  of  sale,  sailing  license,  etc.,  for  the  ships, 
which  were  then  re-named  respectively,  Washing- 
ton, Franklin  and  Oregon,  so  as  to  Americanize 
them  still  more. 

Origoni  and  other  duly  naturalized  American 
citizens,  were  then  given  command  of  the  Oregon 


228  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

and  Franklin,  the  Admiral  selecting  the  Washing- 
ton as  his  flagship.  The  United  States  flag  was 
then  hoisted  over  the  ships,  and  preparations 
pushed  for  their  departure. 

To  speak  plainly,  it  was  a  piratical  squadron 
for  the  robbery  of  a  friendly  power,  sent  under 
the  United  States  flag,  and  the  covert  protection 
of  the  Sardinian  government. 

Facts  are  ugly  things  to  deal  with,  and  these 
are  absolute  and  set  down  without  extenuation. 

They  come  as  sequences  of  the  revolutionary 
creed,  as  defined  by  their  own  leaders  who  assert 
that  "  all  is  permitted,  force,  cunning,  poniard, 
poison  ;  the  end  sanctifies  the  means." 

And  now,  before  Medici  and  his  Garibaldian 
reinforcement  of  three  thousand  five  hundred  men 
could  be  embarked,  it  was  still  necessary  to  em- 
ploy stratagem  in  order  to  elude  the  watchful  at- 
tention of  the  Neapolitan  cruisers. 

Accordingly,  the  ship  "  Charles  and  Jane  "  of 
Bath,  Maine,  was  chartered  to  take  eight  hundred 
men  to  Sicily,  the  sum  of  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars  being  duly  deposited  in  case  she  was  lost 
to  her  owners. 

She  was  to  be  sent  out  as  a  vanguard  ship  in 


THE   ROBBERY   OF   A   KINGDOM.  229 

tow  of  Utile,  in  order  to  deceive  the  Neapoli- 
tan Navy  into  the  idea  that  she  formed  the  whole 
of  the  Second  Expedition.  Her  troops  were 
mostly  Sardinian  Bcrsaglieri.  The  ruse  entirely 
succeeded,  for  the  Neapolitan  squadron  raised  the 
virtual  blockade  of  Genoa  and  started  in  pursuit. 

On  the  night  of  the  8th  of  June,  the  "  Charles 
and  Jane  "  was  dispatched  and  captured,  as  it  was 
intended  she  should  be,  the  next  morning. 

And  on  the  9th,  at  midnight,  the  Washington 
and  Oregon  ran  out  safely  and  on  to  Cagliari  and 
Sicily ;  the  Franklin  having  left  previously  for 
Leghorn,  there  to  take  on  board  the  Tuscan  con- 
tingent. 

Thus  the  Admiral  sailed  on  the  third  day  suc- 
ceeding this  conference,  with  the  second  expedi- 
tion and  successfully  reached  Sicily. 

The  safe  arrival  of  Medici  with  his  reinforce- 
ments was  the  turning  point  in  Garibaldi's  enter- 
prise. 

The  ships  arrived  at  Castelamare  near  Palermo, 
where  they  landed  the  officers  and  men  under 
Medici,  as  well  as  arms  and  ammunition. 

But  it  was  not  the  Admiral's  intention  to  per- 
mit any  portion  of  the  Expedition  to  be  sacrificed. 


230       .  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

The  "  Charles  and  Jane  "  in  tow  of  "  £'  Utile  " 
had  when  captured  been  taken  prisoners  of  war  to 
Gaeta  near  Naples. 

But  her  Captains  were  instructed  to  appeal  to 
the  United  States  Envoy  at  Naples,  against  what 
the  revolutionists  were  pleased  to  call  the  outrnge, 
against  the  United  States  flag,  committed  by  the 
Neapolitan  squadron  in  making  that  vessel  and 
her  tug  prisoners  of  war. 

The  Neapolitans  very  naturally  insisted,  that 
they  were  lawful  prizes  taken  in  the  act  of  con- 
veying eight  hundred  armed  troops  to  Sicily  to 
aid  the  insurgents  then  in  arms  there,  against  the 
Neapolitan  Government. 

But  the  American  minister  demanded  their 
release  intact,  which  was  effected  after  a  few  days, 
when  the  two  vessels  continued  their  voyage  to 
Sicily. 

The  Admiral  was  conferring  with  Medici  at 
Castelamare  when  these  vessels  were  sighted. 

"  Did  I  not  promise  you,  Colonel,"  he  said, 
"that  I  would  have  them  here  in  time  to  take 
part  in  the  near  coming  battle  of  Melazzo,  which 
will  free  the  Island  from  the  Bourbon  rule?" 

"It  would  seem,"  said  Medici  in   his  cynical 


THE  ROBBERY  OF  A  KINGDOM.      231 

way,  "that  we  Roman  Carbonari  are  all  American 
citizens,  and  our  Eagle  the  Spread  Eagle." 

"  Be  that  as  it  may,"  answered  the  Admiral, 
"you  certainly  are  indebted  to  being  here  at  all, 
to  its  protection." 

*  *  *  *  *  *  " 

As  the  Admiral  had  predicted,  the  battle  of 
Melazzo  was  a  turning  point.  It  had  been  fought 
and  won,  and  night  closed  in  upon  the  carnage  of 
the  day. 

During  the  fight,  the  Admiral  had  sent  a  mes- 
sage about  the  disposition  of  his  ship  to  Garibaldi, 
but  the  man  to  whom  he  had  entrusted  it  never 
returned. 

It  was  of  pressing  moment  to  be  prepared  to 
cooperate  intelligently,  if  need  be,  and  he  deter- 
mined to  go  himself  and  confer  with  the  General. 

But  by  the  time  he  succeeded  in  finding  Gari- 
baldi, it  was  three  in  the  morning,  and  he  descried 
him  asleep  on  the  steps  of  a  church  with  his  head 
pillowed  on  his  saddle,  and  his  slumbers  were 
deep,  for  he  was,  of  course,  overcome  with  fatigue 
after  the  severe  labors  of  the  previous  day; 
although  the  repose  must  have  been  life-giving, 
for  he  had  won  an  enduring  victory. 


232  THE    SECRET    DIRECTORY. 

The  Admiral  was  told  that  the  General  had  left 
orders  to  be  awakened  at  four,  so  he  sat  down  on 
the  portico,  and  waited  until  that  time  when  he 
awoke  him. 

In  the  first  waking  Garibaldi  had  evidently  for- 
gotten his  own  order,  and  on  being  aroused  glared 
angrily  upon  the  intruder,  and  as  those  small 
bullet-like,  quickly  seeing,  brown-hazel  eyes 
flashed  open,  he  spoke  roughly  and  passionately. 

At  once  the  Admiral  instinctively  felt  that 
their  friendship  was  broken,  for  he  knew  what  the 
displeasure  of  Garibaldi  meant,  and  that  he  never 
forgave  any  one  who  incurred  his  enmity  from 
whatever  cause. 

Nor  did  he  ever  allow  any  one  to  oppose,  con- 
tradict, or  differ  in  opinion  from  him  on  any  topic. 

Knowing  well  his  relentless  temper,  he  there- 
fore felt,  sure  that  by  this  seemingly  trifling  cause, 
their  good  feeling  toward  each  other  had  been 
seriously  strained ;  so  getting  the  needed  orders 
as  quickly  as  possible,  he  walked  slowly  and  sadly 
u  way. 

How  busy  was  memory  in  that  hour  of  forced 
retrospection.  They  had  first  met  as  forecastle 
sailors,  he  a  wild  boy,  a  runaway  from  home  to  en- 


THE   ROBfcERY   OP   A   KINGDOM.  233 

list  as  a  sailor,  and  Garibaldi  eleven  years  his 
senior. 

Then  he  remembered  him  as  a  good  boatswain, 
a  chief  mate,  a  master  of  a  coasting  craft. 

His  ability  as  a  seaman  was  of  an  inferior  order, 
and  not  fitted  for  command  of  large  craft. 

Of  course  he  could  splice,  knot,  reef  and  steer; 
yes,  he  said  to  himself,  the  man  was  a  good  inarlin- 
spike  sailor,  and  nothing  more.  How  much  he 
must  have  exerted  himself  to  have  gained  even 
such  knowledge  as  he  had  acquired,  for  his  educa- 
tion was  of  the  elementary  type. 

He  had  only  served  in  naval  warfare  in  the 
hand  to  hand,  head  over  heels  way,  common  to 
the  small  fighting  of  filibustering,  and  had  no 
knowledge  whatever  of  the  science  of  maneuver- 
ing ships  of  war,  or  engaging  them  properly  in 
action. 

He  smiled  when  he  recalled  the  vaunted  naval 
engagements  they  had  had  in  South  America. 
These  were  confined  to  night  surprises,  and  run- 
ning fights  between  them  and  easily  worked  small 
sloops  or  schooners,  provided  with  a  pivot  gun 
and  one  or  two  carronades  in  broadside. 

In  the  river  work,  which  was  always  the  scene 


234  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

of  his  exploits,  he  would  keep  his  small  craft  in 
shoal  water  where  his  opponents  could  not  go, 
and  when  hard  pushed,  beach,  his  craft  and  play 
horse-marine. 

Oh,  how  all  this  early  life  unrolled  itself  as  of 
yesterday. 

Later  on  Garibaldi  won  his  admiration,  when 
they  met  as  soldiers;  then  enlisting  under  him  he 
became  his  aid. 

How  dexterously  the  new  General  handled  the 
broadsword,  but  with  a  straight  sword  at  point 
and  fence  he  was  nowhere.  As  for  Garibaldi's 
military  capacity,  it  consisted  in  strategy.  He 
had  no  tactics. 

The  wine  of  youth  stirred  the  blood  of  mature 
age,  as  the  Admiral  recalled  the  excitement  of  the 
feints,  surprises,  guet-a-pcns,  then  the  sudden  full 
gallop-charge  ;  flanking  and  turning  a  point  on  an 
opposing  force,  was  Garibaldi's  forte. 

What  magnificent  irregular  clashes  he  had 
made  with  him,  Bashi-Bazouk  way ! 

Garibaldi  had  no  equal  at  that  sort  of  thing,  at 
the  head  of  one  thousand  men. 

He  did  not  care  to  encumber  himself  with  ar- 


THE  EOBBERY  OF  A  KINGDOM.      235 

tillery,  he  deemed  it  slow  old  woman's  work.  But 
the  horse  and  the  sabre  were  his  element. 

His  strength  lay  in  the  terror  inspired  by  his 
surprises  between  midnight  and  early  dawn,  when 
Nature  sleeps  hard  and  best.  Then  the)7'  would 
drop  upon  the  sentries,  overpower  them,  dash  into 
camp  slashing  right  and  left,  and  secure  retreat 
before  the  foe  could  form  or  hardly  get  to  his 
arms. 

In.  masterly  retreat  he  was  incomparable.  No 
baggage,  no  commissariat,  no  impedimenta  ;  each 
man  on  his  horse  with  pistols  and  off  at  a  full 
gallop. 

Shrewd,  penetrating  in  observation,  dexterous 
in  speech,  cunning  in  thought,  and  cautious  in  act, 
Garibaldi  was  a  plebeian  Macchiavel. 

Thus  the  Admiral  summed  up  this  estimate  of 
the  General,  and  as  his  mental  vision  grew  clearer, 
he  remembered  that  Garibaldi  never  pardoned 
Mazzini  because  he  appointed  Roselli  over  him  at 
Rome  in  1849. 

"  Why,"  groaned  he,  "  should  I  hide  from  my- 
self what  I  know  to  be  true,  that  Garibaldi  really 
loathes  the  great  Mazzini  ? 

"  Yes,  loathes  him  because   he  is  his  superior, 


236  TflE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

and  because  he  is  the  man  who  really  made  him 
in  1849." 

Then  passed  before  him  in  memory,  a  procession 
of  the  men,  he  knew  that  Garibaldi  secretly  de- 
tested. 

"  Cavour,  Brofferio,  Guerrazi,  Cialdini,  Fanti, 
La  Marmora,  the  King,  and  in  the  present  revolu- 
tion after  all,  the  men  who  have  done  the  real 
fighting  are  the  foreigners,  Poles,  Swiss,  Hunga- 
rians, English,  Americans,  and  Greeks. 

"  In  reality,"  he  said  to  himself,  "  it  is  Cavour 
who  has  bought  up,  or  won  over,  every  leading 
Southern  Italian,  before  Garibaldi  appeared  or 
acted,  up  to  this  near-coming  final  betrayal  of 
Francesco  II. 

"  In  Sicily  all  bought  and  paid  for  if  not  in 
money,  in  secured  rank.  Why  even  the  figures 
are  known  in  England,  more  than  twelve  million 
francs  spent  in  Sicily,  twenty-five  million  francs 
given  to  corrupt  Neapolitan  officials. 

"  Cavour  and  the  King  of  Sardinia  pave  their 
way  with  gold  to  victory." 

As  thus  past  and  present  were  borne  in  mental 
review,  carelessly  plodding  along  in  the  uncertain 
light  that  precedes  an  early  dawn,  not  noting 


THE   ItOBBERY   OF   A   KINGDOM.  237 

where  he  planted  his  steps,  he  came  upon  all  the 
horrors  of  yesterday's  battlefield.  The  dead  and 
wounded  seemed  scarcely  to  have  fallen  before 
they  were  stripped,  arms  and  ammunition  in- 
cluded, and  as  his  eye  wandered  over  the  storm- 
swept  mangled-strewn  scene,  he  stumbled,  almost 
falling  over  a  prostrate  body  on  the  verge  of  the 
battlefield. 

Arrested  by  the  rude  shock,  he  stooped  to  look, 
and  beheld  the  fallen  form  of  the  very  sailor  he 
had  dispatched  with  his  message  to  Garibaldi 
when  the  fight  was  hottest. 

There  he  was  dead,  riddled  with  bullets,  with 
the  slip  of  paper  addressed  to  the  General,  still 
pinned  to  the  under  side  of  his  sailor  jacket,  il- 
legible with  blood  stains. 

And  what  was  his  share  of  glory  ? 

No  name,  no  epitaph,  no  fame ;  dead,  for  hard, 
thankless,  badly  paid  duty — so-called  duty.  No 
cross  of  honor,  no  official  recognition,  dead  in  ob- 
scure silence,  dead.  What  miserable  sarcasm  of 
fate! 

Here  is  one  man  not  so  unselfish,  held  up  to  the 
world's  renown ;  while  this  other  one  lies  prone, 
a  mere  withered  human  weed,  tossed  by  the  up- 


238  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

heavel  of  forces  he  never  sought  to  shape,  beyond 
the  boundary  of  Time  into  the  fathomless  sea  of 
Eternity. 

Oh,    how   inconsequent   and   senseless    is    the 
meed  of  praise  given  by  man. 


THE   BRITISH    LEGION.  239 


CHAPTER  X. 

MAZZINI.      VICTOR    EMANUEL.      THE   BRITISH  LE- 
GION. 

THE  Admiral  having  subsequently  sent  under 
the  United  States  flag  four  other  expeditions  of 
his  steamers  from  Genoa  to  Leghorn,  running 
them  through  the  Neapolitan  Blockading  fleet, 
and  carrying  a  total  of  nine  thousand  men  to  aid 
Garibaldi,  now  returned  to  Genoa  where  his  serv- 
ices were  most  needed. 

He  was  met  at  once  on  his  arrival  there  by  the 
Revolutionary  Committee  of  the  Cause. 

"  Well,  what  goes  wrong  ?  "  asked  the  Admiral. 

"  We  have  no  money,  not  a  soldo.  We  are  pen- 
niless," they  answer,  with  rueful  faces. 

"  I  will  go  at  once  to  the  King,  if  that  be  so," 
replied  the  Admiral.  "  If  we  cannot  have  open 
support,  we  have  a  right  to  expect  the  sinews  of 
war." 

It  was  a  short  conference,  and  in  an  hour  the 
Admiral  was  en  route  to  Turin. 


240  THE    SECRET    DIRECTORY. 

He  had  also  sealed  dispatches  to  deliver  to 
Cavour. 

Arrived  at  Turin  there  was  one  greater  than 
the  King  to  be  first  consulted. 

The  Master.     He  of  the  Secret  Directory. 

In  a  small  room  of  an  obscure  quarter  of  Turin, 
Mauro  Mucchi  was  found. 

The  two  friends  on  meeting  gave  each  other  the 
triple  embrace,  with  the  enthusiasm  that  comes  of 
success. 

The  pale  face  of  Mazzini,  for  he  it  was,  flushed 
amid  the  interchange  of  warm  congratulations. 

"  I  got  your  cipher,  dear,  good  Cousin,"  he 
said,  "just  in  time.  I  was  on  the  point  of 
joining  you  on  board  the  Washington,  when  I  re- 
ceived your  warning.  So,  I  am  still  here." 

For  a  moment  there  was  silence,  when  with  a 
sudden  outburst  of  indignation,  Mazzini  resumed, 
"  They  are  all  Bourbons,  the  traitors  to  liberty ; 
but  patience.  The  Cause  knows  how  to  bide  its 
time.  The  Cause  first,  later  on  vengeance.  Maz- 
zini after  he  is  dead  will  live  on  as  does  Jacques 
Molay,  live  to  revenge,  until  the  last  Bourbon 
^hall  have  fallen." 

"  It   will  not  take  so  long,"  said  the  Admiral 


THE   BRITISH   LEGION.  241 

ironically.  "  We  are  just  now  only  swapping 
kings.  We  make  them  eat  each  other  up.  He 
of  Sardinia  swallows  his  cousin  Francesco,  and  it 
suits  us  well  during  the  process  of  digestion,  to  let 
Victor  Emanuel  fancy  that  he  is  standard  bearer 
of  so-called  United  Italy.  Meantime,  the  Secret 
Directory  bears  in  mind  that  he  is  also  a  Bour- 
bon. Chacun  a  son  tour." 

"You  are  quite  right,"  replied  Mazzini,  "Sar- 
dinia is  but  the  puppet  we  use.  It  is  Rome.  Rome 
we  must  have.  All  roads  are  good  that  lead 
thither.  The  signet  ring  of  the  Fisherman  means 
the  moral  mastery  of  the  world."  And  the  great 
conspirator's  pallid  face  darkened,  as  if  obscured 
by  the  shadowing  wing  of  Eblis. 

The  Admiral  turned  pale  and  was  silent,  for  he 
was  bound  by  that  vow  never  to  act  against 
Rome,  and  he  intended  never  to  violate  the  oath 
made  to  the  martyr,  who  gave  his  own  life  to  save 
his. 

Again  Mazzini's  falcon  eye  noticed  that  pecul- 
iar expression  of  dissent. 

"  There  is  a  mystery,"  thought  he,  "  about  my 
friend  that  I  cannot  understand.  He  is  caught  in 
16 


242  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

meshes  somewhere.  Is  a  woman  holding  him 
back? 

"  Pardon  a  friend  the  deep  interest,"  asked  the 
Chief.  "Admiral,  are  you  married?" 

This  was  an  old  ruse  of  his,  to  watch  the  effect 
of  a  blunt  question  abruptly  put. 

"  Master,"  answered  the  Admiral,  gayly,  "  I  am 
a  cosmopolite.  I  am  married  according  to  our 
creed  without  benefit  of  clergy,  to  United  Italy. 
She  is  fair,  though  not  of  good  repute." 

"  He  cannot  be  fathomed  at  one  dragging  of  the 
net,"  thought  Mazzini,  "  and  I  like  him  the  better 
for  it.  Tell  me,"  he  said,  "  how  came  about  the 
King's  treachery  ?  " 

"  It  is  rather  Cavour,"  replied  the  Admiral, 
"  for  as  you  know,  he  moves  the  chess  board. 

"  Our  secret  agent  on  Admiral  Persano's  fleet, 
tells  me,  that  Cavour's  public  orders  have  been 
most  astute  for  the  role  the  Sardinian  government 
is  playing. 

"  To  begin  with,  Persano  had  orders  which  he 
was  to  show  after  Garibaldi  sailed,  to  arrest  the 
General,  if  he  put  into  any  port  of  the  island  of 
Sardinia. 

"  Admiral   Persano,  not  seeing  the   ruse,  was 


THE   BRITISH   LEGION.  243 

sorely  puzzled.  But  he  reasoned  thus:  'Gari- 
baldi could  scarcely  have  sailed  without  knowl- 
edge of  the  King's  government.'  So  he  returned 
to  Cagliari  and  telegraphed  to  Cavour  for  more 
explicit  instructions. 

"  Cavour,  in  order  to  gain  time,  telegraphed 
back,  asking  the  opinion  of  Persano,  and  while 
Persano  was  waiting  and  telegraphing,  Garibaldi 
landed  at  Marsala." 

The  two  friends  thereupon,  laughed  heartily. 

"  Then  Persano,"  continued  the  Admiral,  "  was 
greatly  agitated,  and  cruised  about  aimlessly. 

"  Upon  this  Cavour  having  gained  the  point, 
threw  off  the  mask  he  wished  to  wear,  until  Gari- 
baldi had  effected  a  landing,  and  wrote  Persano 
to  offer  rewards  and  promotions  to  any  officers  of 
the  Neapolitan  Navy,  who  would  assist  to  effect  a 
rising  in  favor  of  the  Cause.  Whereupon,  Per- 
sano at  last  clearly  understood  what  he  was  ex- 
pected to  do,  and  made  ready  to  assist  the  in- 
surgents. 

"  On  June  13,  Persano  received  a  dispatch  from 
Cavour  that  you  were  on  board  the  Washington, 
and  to  arrest  you,  as  your  presence  there  would 
constrain  the  King  to  recall  his  Navy  from  Sicily. 


244  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

"  Upon  which  Persano  immediately  went  on 
shore,  and  saw  Garibaldi,  who  promised  to  arrest 
you  if  you  acted  in  opposition  to  the  King,  but  de- 
clined to  interfere  merely  on  account  of  your 
presence  on  board  my  flagship. 

"  I  then  sent  you  my  cipher,  and  not  any  too 
soon,  as  Persano  secretly  searched  all  the  ships  of 
my  Expedition  for  you. 

"  Master,"  added  the  Admiral,  "  have  you  no 
fear  here  ?  " 

"  None  whatever,"  was  the  calm  reply  of  Maz- 
zini.  "  What  Cavour  was  scheming  to  avoid,  was 
the  complication  of  my  open  presence  on  board 
your  fleet.  He  would  simply  have  held  me  cap- 
tive for  a  time,  for  the  diplomatic  effect,  and  pres- 
ently I  would  have  returned  to  England.  You 
must  know  that  he  would  not  have  dared  to  do 
more  than  that. 

"But  I  do  not  exonerate  him  from  the  injustice 
of  double-dealing,  because  he  should  have  duly 
consulted  me  as  to  my  arrest,  nor  shall  I  forget 
the  treachery." 

"  But  one  must  give  the  devil  his  due,"  re- 
marked the  Admiral,  "  and  it  can  not  be  denied 


THE  BRITISH  LEGION.  245 

that  Cavour  is  most  adroit ;  "  at  which  Mazziui 
winced,  just  a  little. 

Then  changing  the  subject,  he  said  effusively, 
"But  my  good  cousin,  I  must  congratulate  you 
warmly  on  your  own  splendid  diplomacy  in  con- 
ducting five  armed  expeditions  against  a  friendly 
power  under  the  United  States  flag,  and  thus 
virtually  you  have  committed  that  government,  as 
a  de  facto  partisan,  to  the  present  precarious  cause 
of  Italy. 

"  Young  Italy  is  greatly  in  your  debt." 

"  It  was  an  experiment,"  said  the  Admiral, 
"  which  might  have  had  a  very  different  ending, 
for  caught  on  the  high  seas  I  might  have  been 
held  as  a  pirate." 

"  But  how  did  you  manage  to  manipulate  the 
Masonic  sentiment  in  America,  to  have  induced 
that  Government,  thus  far  to  depart  from  its  well- 
known  foreign  policy,  and  hold  the  famous  Monroe 
doctrine  in  abeyance  ? 

"  And  now  doubtless  you  return  to  London  in 
pursuance  of  our  project." 

"  At  the  present  hour,"  replied  the  Admiral, 
"my  mission  is  to  see  the  King,  and  get  more 


246  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

money  to  keep  us  afloat.  After  which  I  shall  be 
off  at  once  for  London." 

"  Where  I  shall  soon  join  you,"  said  Mazzini, 
and  they  fraternally  embraced  as  they  parted. 

Arrived  an  hour  later  at  the  royal  palace,  the 
Admiral  passed  down  the  Boboli  Garden  and  went 
directly  to  the  King's  private  Cabinet,  where 
Victor  Emanuel  most  graciously  received  him. 

Even  in  his  pleasant  moods,  the  King  was  of 
most  displeasing  aspect,  for  although  his  brow 
was  broad  and  ample,  and  the  upper  part  of  the 
head  well  shaped,  yet  the  whole  expression  of  the 
countenance  was  villainous,  and  indicative  of  vo- 
luptuous weakness  and  unscrupulous  cunning. 

"In  such  a  presence,"  thought  the  Admiral, 
"  theories  of  heredity,  propinquity  and  divine 
right,  do  not  amount  to  much  ;  unless  where  the 
guinea  stamp  of  excellence  is  set  on  the  man  him- 
self." 

"  *  I  am  delighted  that  you  come  from  Gari- 
baldi," said  his  Majesty.  "  He  is  a  brave  and  good 
man,  but  has  around  him  bad  people,  even  some  of 
my  officers  whom  I  was  forced  to  dismiss  and  who 

*  This  interview  is  a  verbatim  copy  from  notes  taken  at  the 
time,  of  a  conversation  held  with  the  King, 


THE  BEITtSH   LEGION.  247 

have  gone  thither.  He  must  keep  his  eyes 
open." 

Then  he  added,  "  I  have  been  told  that  Gari- 
baldi found  fifty  millions  in  Palermo." 

"Not  so,  Sire,"  replied  the  Admiral.  "  When  I 
left  he  had  only  fifty  thousand  francs." 

"  I  am  also  informed,"  said  the  King,  "  that  the 
American  ship  was  taken  in  Gaeta  waters." 

"  Not  so,  Sire,"  the  Admiral  again  replied. 
"  The  Captain  was  within  twelve  miles  of  Cape 
Corso." 

"I  am  astounded,"  exclaimed  His  Majesty. 
The  King  then  remarked,  "  Cavour  has  all  along 
been  striving  to  make  himself  a  martyr.  He  has 
made  rash  and  foolish  promises  to  the  Emperor  at 
Plombieres." 

Then  after  a  pause  he  continued,  "  At  Plom- 
bieres he  sold  me.  When  I  heard  of  the  peace  of 
Villa  Franca  I  felt  crazy  and  damned  everything 
and  everybody,  Napoleon  in  particular." 

Then  presently  he  added,  "  Not  one  of  my 
ministers  oppose  me  but  Cavour,  and  he  has 
already  lost  popularity.  You  see  I  keep  him  that 
he  may  lose  more.  He  is  an  egotist.  Cavour 
would  like  to  be  a  General  but  he  is  afraid  to 


248  THE  SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

fight,  or  even  sit  on  a  horse,"  and  the  King 
laughed  at  this  conceit  in  which  the  Admiral  who 
was  not  a  little  diverted,  joined. 

The  Admiral  seizing  the  occasion  of  His 
Majesty's  hilarious  mood,  said,  "Sire,  I  desire  a 
pardon  for  a  Lieutenant  of  the  Navy  who  left  his 
post,  to  embark  with  me  on  the  Washington." 

"  Tell  me  the  name  of  this  officer,"  said  the 
King,  "and  I  will  both  pardon  him  and  decorate 
him."  His  Majesty  then  took  the  name  of  the 
renegade  down  in  his  memorandum  book. 

"  And,  Sire,  Bertani  says  there  is  no  money." 

"I  will  give  Bertani  three  .millions,"  the  King 
replied,  "  and  tell  Garibaldi  I  will  send  Valerio 
as  Dictator  to  Sicily.  That  scoundrelly  Naples 
will  now  with  its  constitution,  try  to  fawn  on  me. 

"  Garibaldi  must  advance  at  once. 

"Admiral,  I  can  never  forget  your  great  serv- 
ices. /  owe  you  much,  and  /,  as  King,  am  grate- 
ful to  you.  If  I  can  ever  do  anything  for  you  let 
me  know.  I  wish  you  every  good  fortune. 

"  Have  you  no  written  despatches  ?  " 

"I  have,  Sire,"  said  the  Admiral,  "several  for 
Count  Cavour,  and  here  they  are." 

Then  the  King  said,  "  Let  me  see  the  writing." 


THE   BRITISH   LEGION.  251 

The  Admiral  being  so  requested,  produced  the 
sealed  letters  which  were  private  ones  from  Medici 
to  Cavour. 

Upon  which  the  King  looking  at  the  super- 
scription, said,  "  I  am  King.  These  are  addressed 
to  my  minister  and  therefore  I  have  a  right  to  see 
them.  Leave  them  with  me  for  an  hour.  Defer 
your  visit  to  Cavour,  and  I  will  send  them  to  you 
at  your  hotel,  when  you  can  give  them  to  Cavour. 

"  Ah,"  again  examining  the  chirography,  "  I 
think  I  know  the  writing. 

"  Are  you  going  to  Rome  ?  Eh  ?  There  will 
be  a  stir  there  soon,  perhaps." 

"  I  go  first  to  London,  Sire,"  replied  the  Ad- 
miral. 

"  Let  me  know  how  our  affairs  stand  there  when 
you  go. 

"  Stay,"  he  added,  "  when  you  write  me  from 
Rome,  address  me,  Cav™  Oerolamo,  Trombone, 
Firenze" 

And  so  saying,  Victor  Emanuel  handed  to  the 
Admiral  an  envelope  with  the  above  address,  and 
also  his  photograph,  and  written  upon  it,  Victor 
Emanuel. 

"  Adieu,   my   friend,"   said    the    King,    rising, 


252  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

"  write  to  me  or  come  to  see  me  when  you  wish.  I 
shall  always  be  happy  to  see  you." 

The  Admiral  then  went  to  his  hotel  to  await 
the  despatches  for  Cavour,  detained  by  His 
Majesty. 

In  half  an  hour  the  King's  Cameriere  Cuisano, 
came  to  the  hotel  with  the  despatches  enclosed  in 
an  envelope  addressed  to  the  Admiral,  and 
sealed  by  the  King  with  his  signet,  and  also  en- 
closing a  note  from  the  King,  which  said  : 

"  I  send  you  herewith  the  two  letters  of  Medici, 
that  you  will  place  in  other  envelopes  and  deliver 
to  Cavour. 

"  I  have  already  given  three  millions  scudi  for 
Sicily,  and  I  will  also  give  two  millions  more  to 
Bertani.  Return  immediately  to  Palermo,  and 
say  to  Garibaldi  that  I  will  send  him  Valeric  in 
place  of  Varina,  and  that  he  must  at  once  advance, 
Francesco  being  about  to  give  a  constitution 
to  the  Neapolitans. 

"  Your  friend, 
"  VICTOR  EMANUEL." 

Upon  receiving  this  letter,  the  Admiral  reen- 
closed  Medici's  despatches  and  went  to  Cavour, 
who  seemed  to  perceive  that  the  envelopes  had 


THE   BRITISH   LEGION.  253 

been  changed,  but  with  his  consummate  astute- 
ness, after  glancing  over  the  papers  with  apparent 
indifference,  asked  the  Admiral,  "  what  political 
news  he  brought  from  Sicily  ?  "  to  which  question 
the  Admiral  replied,  that  he  "  was  not  sent  on  a 
political  mission  and  had  no  information  to 
give." 

Cavour  seemed  vexed  at  this  answer,  and  re- 
marked with  asperity,  "  Perhaps,  Admiral,  you  are 
a  Mazzinian." 

To  which  he  of  the  Secret  Directory  could  not 
help  replying,  "  Excellency,  the  Master  of  the 
Grand  Orient  must  know,  who  are  the  friends  of 
the  Master  of  the  Carbonari." 

Upon  which  Cavour,  slightly  bowing,  arose,  and 
the  interview  was  abruptly  terminated. 

The  Admiral  knew  perfectly  that  Cavour,  like 
Garibaldi,  never  forgave,  and  he  was  conscious 
that  he  was  suspected  with  regard  to  the  opening 
of  those  letters. 

But  he  disdained  to  exculpate  himself,  and  by 
so  doing  inculpate  the  King. 

Nor  was  he  mistaken  in  his  judgment,  for  when 
the  time  came  for  public  awards  and  the  King 
suggested  his  name,  neither  Cavour  nor  Garibaldi 


254  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

were  willing  that  his  services  should  have  honor- 
able mention. 

So  trivial  often  are  the  secret  springs  of  action 
that  shape  events ;  the  aggregation  of  the  records 
of  individual  lives  forming  history. 

The  Admiral  lost  no  time  in  reporting  the 
King's  orders,  and  a  few  days  later  found  him 
once  more  in  London,  that  central  point  of 
scheming  revolution,  and  disturbing  focus  of  the 
world's  peace. 

The  same  tactics  that  had  prevailed  in  securing 
the  success  of  the  so-called  Second  Expedition  to 
Sicily,  by  placing  it  under  the  protection  of  the 
American  flag,  was  now  to  be  repeated  in  a  differ- 
ent way,  in  order  to  arouse  the  sympathy  of  the 
English  people  in  behalf  of  the  cause. 

The  Secret  Directory  had  decided,  and  it  was 
understood  with  the  hidden  connivance  of  Pal- 
merston  and  Russell,  ministers  of  the  Crown,  to 
raise  a  force  of  one  thousand  men,  to  be  called 
The  British  Garibaldian  Legion,  who  were  to  be 
fully  uniformed,  armed  and  equipped,  and  sent  to 
Sicily. 

Now  these  thousand  men  of  the  Legion  as  mere 
men,  were  of  no  special  consequence  to  Sardinia, 


THE   BRITISH   LEGION.  255 

but  their  presence  there  as  a  British  Legion,  would 
secure  the  appoggio  mask  of  the  English  people  to 
the  cause,  and  help  to  impress  it  on  the  popular 
mind,  that  England  was  bringing  about  the  unifi- 
cation of  Italy  ;  in  the  same  way  that  the  Wash- 
ington, Franklin  and  Oregon  in  bearing  the 
American  flag,  sheltered  the  cause  under  the  pro- 
tection of  the  United  States  Government. 

The  majority  of  these  Mille  were  penniless, 
shiftless  adventurers,  with  no  military  experience 
or  knowledge,  or  social  status,  or  position  of 
any  kind.  They  risked  nothing,  and  had  much  to 
gain. 

Truly  the  simulated  means  of  accomplishment 
were  in  strict  keeping  with  a  simulated  cause, 
that  while  claiming  to  bring  about  the  freedom 
of  Italy,  merely  destroyed  the  autonomy  of  some 
smaller  kingdoms,  in  order  despotically  to  unify 
tkem  into  one. 

Whenever  an  evil  or  an  unjust  thing  is  to  be 
accomplished,  there  is  always  a  great  blare  of 
trumpets  and  grandiloquent  phrasing. 

There  are  on  these  occasions,  words  that  form 
the  stereotype  stock  in  trade  of  revolution,  such 
as :  humanity,  liberty,  freedom ;  fraternity, 


256  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

equality,  solidarity,  and  universal  brotherhood. 
These  fair  words  so  often  prostituted  to  base  uses, 
never  fail  to  stir  the  human  heart  to  its  inner- 
most depths,  because  in  their  true  meaning,  they 
appeal  to  the  most  sacred  and  ennobling  emotions 
of  the  soul. 

*####* 

Some  time  previous  to  the  Admiral's  arrival  in 
London,  No.  8  Salisbury  Street,  had  been  estab- 
lished as  a  recruiting  depot,  and  a  committee  had 
been  organized  awaiting  his  coming. 

Yet  when  his  master  hand  took  the  helm,  he 
found  everything  in  confusion,  and  by  some 
hocus-pocus  tricks,  whatever  funds  had  been  col- 
lected had  disappeared. 

There  was  much  to  be  done,  and  short  space  of 
time  to  do  it  in. 

Members  of  the  House  of  Commons  were  to 
be  interviewed,  editors  of  the  press  and  corres- 
pondents to  be  interested,  notices  to  be  distributed 
which  would  excite  sympathy  for  oppressed  Italy 
and  enthusiam  for  Garibaldi's  movement,  which 
was  duly  heralded  as  a  noble,  disinterested  and 
spontaneous  effort,  of  an  enslaved  people  to  free 
themselves. 


THE   BRITISH   LEGION.  257 

Volunteers  for  this  glorious  cause  had  to  be 
rapidly  enlisted. 

The  sobriquet  of  John  Bull  must  have  been 
given  to  the  British  from  a  way  they  have  of 
butting  head  foremost  against  obstacles  when- 


ever, whatever,  rubs  them  up  wrong  way  or  right 
way,  is  flaunted  before  their  eyes. 

Two  flag  staffs,  tied  together,  the  one  flag  in- 
scribed   British    Legion,   the  other   with   the  in- 
spiriting   battle    cry,    Italy,    Victory,    Garibaldi, 
with  the  added  suggestiveness  of  the  Garibaldian 
17 


258  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

red  shirt,  proved  the  stimulating  red  rag,  needed 
to  make  John  Bull  pitch  in  and  lock  horns  in 
this  scrimmage. 

No  wonder  Garibaldi  exclaimed  in  the  full- 
ness of  his  overweening  conceit,  Son  io,  chi  ho 
fatto  V Italia.* 

The  Admiral  at  once  removed  the  Salisbury 
Street  recruiting  depot,  to  No.  147  Fleet  Street, 
where  it  was  established  under  the  high-sounding 
name  of  "  Headquarters  of  the  British  Legion." 

The  important  subject  of  want  of  funds  was 
promptly  met  by  his  giving  a  personal  guarantee 
for  twelve  thousand  pounds,  which  was  accepted. 

So  successfully  did  the  Admiral  manipulate 
all  resources  and  work  every  concurring  circum- 
stance for  the  cause,  that  in  the  last  days  of  Sep- 
tember, 1860,  only  two  months  after  his  arrival 
in  London,  the  British  Garibaldi  Legion  one 
thousand  strong,  was  dispatched  fully  uniformed, 
armed  and  equipped,  to  Naples,  in  the  steam 
transports  Melazzo  and  Emperor. 

To  be  sure,  the  majority  of  these  classic  mille, 
were  mere  penniless,  shiftless  adventurers,  with 
no  military  experience  or  knowledge,  who  risked 

*  It  is  I  who  have  made  Italy. 


r    <  v-^    '-t^ 


c> 

/    < 


£1^ 


THE   BRITISH    LEGION.  261 

nothing  and  gained  much,  for  the  Expedition  was 
really  convoyed  and  protected  by  both  Sardinian 
and  British  cruisers. 

But  the  great  object  was  gained  of  landing  a 
British  Legion  in  Sicily,  to  fight  for  United  Italy. 

But  although  the  Legion  might  have  been 
composed  in  great  part  of  a  nondescript  lot  of 
worthless  scalawags,  yet  a  real  enthusiasm  for  the 
cause  existed  among  many  members  of  the 
aristocracy  of  England. 

Of  this  interest,  the  Admiral  experienced 
various  proofs. 

One  notable  case  was  that  of  a  British  Admiral, 
who  wrote  to  him  soon  after  he  commenced  re- 
cruiting operations,  as  follows : 

"  Private  and  confidential. 
"  Merchester, 

"  Herrdean  Hants. 

"AUGUST  15,  '60. 

"  I  am  anxious  to  assist  Garibaldi  if  I  can.  If 
you  will  call  on  me  on  Friday  at  one  o'clock,  or 
on  Saturday  at  ten  in  No.  15  Albemarle  Street,  I 
shall  be  glad  to  see  you. 

"  I  remain  your  obednt  servt, 
"Signed,  CHAS.  NAPIER,  Admiral."* 

*  Admiral  Napier  died  Nov.  6,  1860. 


262  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

At  the  specified  time,  the  Admiral  made  the 
requested  visit,  when  Sir  Charles  offered  to  take 
command  of  Garibaldi's  fleet. 

The  Admiral  thereupon  informed  Sir  Charles, 
that  there  was  no  fleet,  save  that  which  formed 
the  Second  Expedition,  viz :  the  Washington, 
Franklin  and  Oregon,  which  he  commanded. 

As  the  Admiral  drew  up  and  signed  in  dupli- 
cate, the  final  agreement  for  the  steamers,  he 
could  not  avoid  remarking  sarcastically,  "  After 
all,  it  is  but  a  safe  excursion  party  !  " 

The  papers  for  the  Melazzo  read  as  follows: 

LONDON,  Sept.  15,  1860. 
E.  C. 

Cunard  and  Co. 

London,  No.  32  King  William  Street,  E.  C. 
Liverpool  and  Paris. 

W.  L.  Arrowsrnith  is  owner  of  the  steam  screw 
Melazzo. 

The  Admiral  represents  General  Garibaldi.  W. 
L.  A.  coals,  officers,  mans  and  victuals  the  vessel, 
and  takes  on  board  many  as  excursionists  as  can 
well  be  taken,  which  he  agrees  to  deliver  at  the 
port  selected  by  General  Garibaldi,  viz:  Naples, 
rendezvous  at  Cagliara. 

The   Admiral  agrees  to  pay  W.  L.  A.  therefor, 


THE   BRITISH   LEGION.  263 

six  pounds  sterling  per  man  for  every  excursionist 
so  taken  on  board,  on  arrival  of  vessel  at  port,  the 
officers  to  be  paid  for  at  ten  pounds  per  head  as 
cabin  passengers,  thirteen  first  class.  Admiral  for 
General  Garibaldi. 
Signed,  W.  L.  ARROWSMITH, 

Owner  of  S.  S.  Melazzo. 

Under  this  contract  or  charter,  261  men  and 
thirteen  officers  were  taken  on  board  this  vessel, 
aild  arrived  at  Cagliara,  October  first. 

Her  orders  were  to  proceed  with  all  possible 
speed  to  Cagliara  in  the  Island  of  Sardinia,  and 
there  await  orders  from  General  Garibaldi. 

Under  a  similar  charter  and  orders,  the  Second 
Battalion  of  British  Legion  sailed  on  the  Emperor, 
the  28th  of  September. 

"  Were  it  not  for  the  Cause,"  said  the  Admiral, 
to  his  confidential  agent,  with  a  deep  drawn  sigh, 
as  they  watched  the  last  steamer  until  she  disap- 
peared from  the  horizon,  "  this  would  scarcely  be 
deemed  a  creditable  page  of  history,  which  will 
record  the  fact,  that  three  friendly  powers,  the 
United  States,  Great  Britain  and  Sardinia,  united 
in  seizing  unawares,  the  small  kingdom  of  Sicily. 

"  And  I,  as  to  my  part,  were  it  not  for  our 


264  THE   SECKET   DIRECTORY. 

creed,  that  the  end  justifies  the  means,  well,  I 
could  not  respect  myself." 

Thus  although  in  the  very  flush  of  success,  yet 
not  pleased  vvitli  himself,  or  satisfied  with  the  part 
lie  had  taken  in  these  unsavory  transactions,  lie 
repaired  to  his  rooms  at  Hatchett's  Hotel,  Pic- 
adilly  W.,  where  overcome  by  the  reaction  of  so 
prolonged  a  strain,  both  physical  and  mental,  he 
sought  that  repose  which  nature  claims  as  her  due. 

But  complete  rest  of  body  and  mind  means 
peace  of  heart,  and  the  Admiral  had  failed  to 
secure  that  boon,  in  the  intrigues  and  amid  the 
surroundings  in  which  he  had  been  so  actively 
engaged. 

The  mirage  of  life's  illusions  obscures  the  path- 
way more  or  less  for  all,  but  in  every  life  is  vouch- 
safed at  times  glimpses  of  clearer  light. 

Such  an  hour  came  to  the  Admiral,  when  hav- 
ing successfully  accomplished  the  specific  labor  he 
had  undertaken,  he  paused,  as  it  were,  to  get  a 
more  extended  view  of  the  situation. 

So  many  conflicting  thoughts  oppressed  him, 
and  the  work  to  which  he  had  for  so  long  a  time 
given  such  zealous  efforts,  was  presented  to  his 
mind  as  if  by  some  other  than  himself  and  under 


THE   BK1TISH   LEGION.  265 

such  startling  aspects,  that  he  shrank  back  from 
himself,  as  from  an  unknown  source. 

The  soul  is  limitless  and  each  being  contains 
within  its  own  essence,  unfathomed  depths  that 
ever  give  back  eager  questionings  from  their 
abysmal  soundings. 

So  striking  are  these  manifestations  to  the  in- 
quiring soul  that  prayerfully  pauses  to  take  coun- 
sel of  the  immortal  principle  within,  that  in  all 
ages  the  process  of  self  communing  has  attracted 
the  attention  and  the  interest  of  the  philosophic 
and  the  religious. 

In  this  weary  hour  of  disillusions,  as  the  veil 
was  gently  lifted  and  the  Admiral  beheld  as  in  a 
distant  mirror,  a  faint  reflection  of  truths  hereto- 
fore hidden  by  the  thick  mists  of  error,  he  felt, 
although  he  could  not  exactly  comprehend  why, 
that  he  was  on  the  eve  of  changes  he  could 
neither  understand  nor  measure. 

"  Can  it  be,"  he  asked  himself,  "  that  I  have 
hitherto  mistaken  shams  for  realities? 

"  After  all  is  said,  what  is  this  great  Sphinx  we 
call  the  Cause  ?  " 

As  he  thus  sought  absolute  truth,  thousands  of 
Protean  shapes  confronted  him,  and  myriads  of 


266  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

clamorous  voices  confused  his  intelligence,  for 
these  were  the  very  phantoms  he  had  so  long  pur- 
sued as  realities. 

Well  might  he  sink  back  dismayed  at  the  retro- 
spect. 

Then  amid  the  dark  groping  and  the  perplexity, 
one  distinct  image  impressed  itself  smiling  wist- 
fully and  sadly  upon  her  wayward  boy. 

"Mother,"  he  groaned,  "sweet,  gentle  Mother, 
stay  near  me,  Mother,  and  help  me  to  think 
justly,  for  I  must  begin  as  a  child  again. 
How  was  it  that  I  first  went  astray  from  your 
teachings  ?  " 

As  the  light  of  this  dear  remembrance  illumines 
his  soul  he  sees  more  clearly. 

"Ah,  yes,  I  was  a  wild,  willful,  runaway  boy. 
It  seems  like  yesterday.  I  know  how  I  pained 
you,  but  you  never  knew  how  I  loved  you. 

"  Then,  ah,  I  see — I  was  dragged  along  Ma- 
zeppa-like,  torn  asunder  by  the  force  of  impetuous 
passions,  that  came  in  part  with  the  onrush  of  a 
bounding,  unrestrained  manhood. 

"  This  was  an  inheritance  from  the  Norse  blood 
of  my  father,  that  brooked  no  control. 

"I  sought  excitement.      The  mystery  of  the 


THE   BRITISH    LEGION.  267 

Masonic  Lodges  attracted  me.  I  became  oath- 
bound. 

"Then  I  •determined  to  enlist  others  so  as  to 
rule  over  many.  Of  course,  I  at  once  saw  that  in  a 
secret  organization  there  must  be  an  irresponsible 
multitude  under  the  directing  power  of  a  leader. 

"  From  the  first,  I  was  not  deceived.  I  waded 
resolutely  through  the  innocuous  symbolic  trash 
of  the  first  three  orders. 

"  I  advanced  steadily,  becoming  deeply  in  earn- 
est, as  the  real  purpose  unfolded  itself. 

"  If  at  times,  I  have  dratvn  back  dismayed  be- 
fore the  ever  impending  sword  of  Damocles,  the 
never  ceasing  cry  of  vengeance,  the  endless  mach- 
inations upheld  by  terror,  and  made  possible 
through  secrecy,  I  have  yet  again  as  often  strode 
relentlessly  onward  because  there  has  been  no 
stopping  place,  once  caught  in  the  swirl  of  the 
hidden  whirlpool. 

"  Where  will  it  all  end  ?  " 

As  if  in  answer  to  this  mental  query,  there 
came  through  one  of  those  occult  chains  of  con- 
current events  we  are  pleased  to  call  coincidence, 
a  hurried  knock  at  the  door  repeated  quickly, 
nervously  and  impatiently. 


268  THE    SECKET   DIKECTOKY. 

Before  its  sharp  summons,  the  placid  image  of 
the  kindly  mother  faded  away  into  the  dim  past. 

As  the  Admiral  opened  the  door,  he  could  not 
in  his  great  surprise  but  exclaim,  "  Elsa  !  " 

Yes,  it  was  Elsa  transformed,  with  short  hair  in 
close  curls,  natty  dress,  bold  air,  swinging  gait. 

He  felt  after  the  momentary  shock,  at  the  very 
first  glance,  that  whatever  might  once  have  been 
this  woman's  capabilities  for  evil,  that  by  some  in- 
explicable change,  they  were  vastly  increased. 

She,  however,  as  he  stood  irresolute,  quickly 
closing  the  door,  promptly  gave  him  the  triple 
Masonic  embrace. 

"  Salute  me  mystically,  good  cousin,"  she  said. 
"  I  am  High  Priestess  of  an  Androgynous  Lodge, 
and  as  I  stand  before  the  Altar,  the  place  at  my 
side,  of  High  Priest,  I  still  keep  vacant,  for  I 
await  your  coming. 

"  Question  me  and  you  will  at  once  perceive 
that  I  am  an  initiate.  Ask  me  my  duty  ?  I  an- 
swer, To  listen,  to  obey,  to  work  and  to  be  silent 
as  to  the  mysteries  of  the  order.  My  password  is 
Eva.  I  am  no  longer  Elsa.  My  Masonic  name  is 
Hava.  Mother  of  Humanity.  Ha  !  ha  ! 

"I  now  understand  why  you  were  Adonhiram, 


THE   BRITISH   LEGION.  269 

and  that  to  be  a  High  Grade  Mason,  one  must  have 
a  pseudonym.  Our  sacred  woi-disfeixfeax,fum," 
and  she  laughed  derisively. 

Suddenly,  impetuously  embracing  him,  she 
cried,  "  Receive,  oh  Venerable,  the  holy  kiss  of 
peace.  I  embrace  you  five  times  mystically. 
Thus  we  do  in  the  Cabinet  of  Reflection  ;  and  I 
am  also  full  perfect  mistress  of  the  Garter,  with 
all  the  Masonic  privileges  attached." 

Here  she  threw  herself  on  a  divan,  and 
laughed  hysterically  ;  then  she  arose  and  clasped 
his  hand. 

The  Admiral  stood  rigid  and  immovable. 

"  Bah,"  she  exclaimed  with  an  offended  air,  re- 
treating and  flinging  off  her  hand  which  had 
grasped  his  Masonically,  finger  on  finger  so  as  to 
make  the  number  five,  "Bah,  do  you  never  melt? 

"At  least  you  can  respect  me,"  she  added 
coldly,  "for  I  am  to  be  dreaded.  I  have  drained 
the  cup  of  illusions  to  its  bitter  dregs. 

"  My  password  for  the  inner  sanctuary  is 
Lamma  Kabactani,  and  I  bear  the  sacred  word  of 


At  this  the  Admiral  shuddered. 

"Well,  what   of    it,"   she   demanded   fiercely, 


270  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

"  Was  I  not  first  misled  by  you,  yes  you,  to  enter 
the  Masonic  order  ? 

"  Women  do  nothing  by  halves. 

"  They  are  not  inconsequential  as  are  men.  I 
have  followed  your  principles  of  fraternity  to 
their  utmost  outcome.  Hear  the  Catechism. 

"  Who  is  to  blame  for  crime  ?  The  Grand 
Architect  of  the  Universe,  is  the  answer. 

"What  takes  the  place  of  the  Great  Usurper? 
Fatality,  radical  destruction,  confusion,  anarchy. 
When  we  meet  again,  you  will  find  me  Judith 
armed  with  a  poniard." 

"  Elsa,"  he  said  with  deep  emotion,  "  I  beg,  I 
implore  you,  desist  ;  go  no  higher." 

"  You  beg,  you  implore,"  she  cried  with  disdain. 
"  You  who  plot  and  counterplot !  You  who  are 
cruel  and  have  no  heart  I  While  I  am  but  a  weak 
woman." 

"  And  your  mission  here  ?  "  asked  he. 

"  A  most  merciful  one,"  she  replied.  "  I  come 
to  warn  you.  Your  friend  the  Monk  is  in  dan- 
ger." 

"  How  so,"  interrupted  the  Admiral  hurriedly. 
"  It  cannot  be." 

"  It  can  be    very    well,"    she    said,    "  and    I 


THE   BRITISH   LEGION.  271 

know  what  I  know.  Go  at  once  to  Rome, 
if  you  wish  to  save  him,  for  the  madman  covets 
death  there ;  and  you  whom  I  love  even  to  your 
friends,  are  an  idiot  to  stand  aloof  from  me. 
Share  my  life.  Never  mind  the  tiresome  monkish 
fiction  of  marriage.  Our  destinies  once  united, 
and  we  would  seize  the  Lnciferian  thunderbolts, 
and  rule  over  misrule.  Think  well  on  it." 

She  was  gone. 

"A  frightful  picture  of  a  woman  deformed," 
he  exclaimed.  "  When  such  shall  become  the 
mothers  of  men,  Satan  will  reign." 


272  THE  SECRET   DIRECTORY. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

ENTANGLEMENTS. 

WHILE  the  Admiral  had  decided  in  his  own 
mind,  rather  to  disassociate  himself  from  the 
Secret  Directory  and  return  to  America,  than  to 
become  implicated  in  any  conspiracy  against  the 
Pope,  yet  he  continued  to  act  with  Mazzini  for 
the  unification  of  Italy,  always  making  to  him- 
self the  mental  reservation,  that  he  would  with- 
draw in  case  the  personal  freedom  of  the  Holy 
Father  should  be  in  question. 

He  had  learned  to  understand  that  Garibaldi's 
schemes  and  plans,  positively  centred  in  his  own 
glorification,  that  in  fact  his  character  was  ab- 
solutely the  reverse  from  the  popular  apprehen- 
sion of  it,  and  he  had  ceased  to  hope  from  the 
action  of  this  selfish  egotist,  any  great  uprising 
for  the  enfranchisement  of  humanity. 

He  had  already  said  to  Mazzini,  "  We  are  but 
swapping  Kings,"  but  he  was  beginning  to  lose 
courage  as  to  the  final  outcome  of  the  whole 


ENTANGLEMENTS.  273 

movement,  for  having  no  personal  aggrandizement 
in  view,  his  mental  vision  remained  very  clear. 

But  there  was  one  man  who  still  inspired  him 
with  confidence,  whom  he  looked  upon  as  the  em- 
bodiment of  ideal  aspirations,  and  to  whom  he 
confidently  clung  as  the  last  plank  against  ship- 
wreck. 

This  man  whom  he  placed  on  a  pedestal  far 
above  other  men,  was  Mazzini. 

He  could  safely  remain  in  Rome  as  an  American 
citizen,  and  he  was  for  every  reason  the  most  use- 
ful agent  that  either  the  King  or  Mazzini  could 
employ  to  report  progress  and  correctly  measure 
the  trend  of  events  as  they  transpired. 

On  this  occasion,  however,  his  first  care  was  to 

avoid  communicating  with  the  secret  agents  who 

were    busy    preparing    a    near    coming    change, 

that  is  so  far  as  Rome  could  be  directly  manip- 

*ulated. 

For  after  all,  from  first  to  last,  it  was  scarcely 
in  any  one  instance  the  Romans  themselves  who 
were  engaged  in  revolution,  but  intriguing 
foreigners  who  made  the  Eternal  City  their 
camping  ground. 

The    Admiral's    first    duty    was    to   seek    tho 
18 


274  THE   SECRET    DIRECTORY. 

Monk  and  warn  him  of  the  necessity  of  leaving 
Rome. 

Not  knowing  precisely  how  pressing  might  be 
the  danger,  but  fearing  from  tlie  communication  of 
Elsa,  that  there  was  an  already  formed  con- 
spiracy, which  might  have  a  near  tragic  ending, 
an  hour  after  his  arrival  found  the  Admiral 
threading  the  labyrinthine  streets  framed  in  with 
houses  of  unequal  height ;  here  were  dens  of 
misery,  there  splendid  palaces,  convents  and  busi- 
ness marts,  in  bewildering  juxtaposition. 

"  What  picturesque  contrasting  effects," 
thought  he,  "  what  endless  surprises.  One  can 
never  get  accustomed  to  Rome. 

"  On  the  one  side  is  the  glory  of  art,  on  the 
other  the  irregularity  of  neglect." 

The  Admiral  remembered  to  have  heard  the 
Monk  say  that  he  often  repaired  to  the  church  of 
S.  Luigi,  as  he  found  an  ever  ready  mission  in  the 
crowded  quarter  of  that  neighborhood. 

And  now  he  passes  with  emotion  the  Riario 
palace,  forever  henceforth,  linked  with  the  sombre 
memories  of  Rossi's  martyrdom,  and  with  the 
awakened  recollections  came  the  bitter  reflection, 


ENTANGLEMENTS.  275 

that  no  cause  could  purify  humanity  that  needs 
the  assassin's  blow. 

He  was  not  jubilant  as  he  recalled  that  episode 
of  1848,  when  a  Sovereign  Pontiff  was  in  peril, 
whose  loving  and  sympathetic  heart  perhaps  mis- 
led his  judgment,,  in  his  deep  anxiety  to  promote 
the  general  good,  and  this  benign  Pontiff  was 
aided  by  a  Minister  who  was  a  statesman,  a 
scholar,  and  a  staunch  lover  of  freedom,  of  con- 
stitutional liberty.  - 

And  who  were  the  Bersaylieri  who  committed 
the  atrocious  crime? 

Were  these  men  not  Carbonari  ? 

At  that  moment  of  accusing  conscience,  he  was 
not  happy  to  remember  the  thronging  events  end- 
ing in  Gaeta. 

How  passing  strange  was  the  thought  that 
Rossi  fell  not  many  paces  distant  from  where 
Csesar  fell. 

Weird  meeting  of  the  centuries  ! 

Only  the  modern  Brutus,  more  ignoble,  but  not 
less  bloodthirsty,  sits  safely  in  his  cabinet  and 
calmly  gives  the  signal  that  points  the  dagger  of 
the  hired  bravo  who  does  the  damnable  deed. 

Thus  pondering,  he  mechanically  entered  the 


276  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

church  of  San  Luigi,  and  as  he  did  so  he  felt 
for  the  first  time,  that  the  ever  ready  open  portals 
of  Rome's  churches  typify  that  ever-abounding 
love  of  the  human  race,  that  offers  free  and  equal 
refuge  to  all  men  alike. 

A  common  consolation  to  all 'conditions  and  all 
the  races  of  the  Earth. 

Compared  to  this  silent  but  gracious  invitation 
to  a  universal  Brotherhood,  the  blatant  cry  of  the 
revolutionists  of  a  fraternity  upheld  by  hidden 
oaths  and  penalties,  weighed  but  as  dross  against 
pure  gold  thrice  refined. 

It  was  one  of  the  many  days  of  high  festival 
that  Rome  celebrates,  and  the  last  lights  were 
being  extinguished  on  the  Altar,  as  there  still 
lingered  here  and  there  a  worshipper. 

Kneeling  within  the  Sanctuary  was  the  Monk 
whom  he  sought,  wrapt  in  the  silent  homage  of 
thanksgiving  and  adoration,  succeeding  the  Holy 
Sacrifice  that  he  had  just  offered. 

How  impressive  was  his  recollected  aspect,  at 
once  so  calm,  so  composed,  yet  so  ardent. 

"  This  man,"  thought  the  Admiral,  "  is  no  mere 
enthusiast,  he  measures  the  value  of  things,  he  is 
in  earnest  and  believes  in  a  higher  life ;  and  I 


ENTANGLEMENTS.  277 

may  as  well  admit  it  to  myself,  his  soul  reaches 
upward  toward  an  unseen  ideal,  not  of  this 
world.  This  is  of  a  faith  that  makes  Heaven  of 
Earth." 

So  weighing  the  motives  that  evidently  sus- 
tained the  Monk,  his  friend  recognized  of  how  lit- 
tle avail  it  would  be  to  try  and  make  him  save 
himself. 

He  saw  once  again  reflected  in  that  rapt  up- 
ward look,  the  face  of  the  dear  saint  who  had 
died  to  save  him,  and  lie  felt  that  he  would  rather 
perish  as  an  outcast,  than  that  this  heroic  being 
should  be  sacrificed. 

Overcome .  by  these  emotions  so  new  to  his 
hitherto  darkened  soul,  he  sank  upon  his  knees, 
and  having  risen  to  the  height  of  vicarious  suffer- 
ing, the  Carbonaro  prayed.  Nor  did  he  ask  for 
succor  in  cold  Masonic  phrasing  addressed  to  the 
Architect  of  the  Universe ;  but  he  implored  the 
God  of  his  Mother,  for  light  and  guidance. 

And  now,  as  the  Monk  turned  to  leave  the 
Sanctuary,  in  order  to  meet  the  exacting  and  har- 
assing demands  of  the  busy  da}r's  work,  as  he 
passed  hurriedty  on  to  the  door,  he  saw  with  an 
immense  joy  his  kneeling  friend. 


278  THE  SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

Bending  over  him  and  blessing  him,  the  Mason 
receives  the  benediction  with  grateful  recognition, 
and  as  he  rises,  the  Monk  and  the  Mason  embraced 
each  other,  and  arm  in  arm  left  the  church. 

The  Monk  was  the  first  to  speak. 

"  I  knew  it,"  he  said.     "  Thank  God." 

The  Carbonaro  had  now  regained  the  outer 
world,  and  already  his  soul,  so  long  in  fetters,  was 
being  dragged  down  to  its  former  level. 

"Knew  what?"  he  asked  coldly. 

"  Knew  that  my  prayers  would  be  answered,  for 
prayer  is  never  lost.  Knew  that  my  brother's  sacri- 
fice was  accepted  and  must  bear  fruit." 

"But  you  did  not  know,"  said  the  Mason  half 
sarcastically,  as  he  struggled  to  get  the  old 
mastery  over  himself,  "that  your  own  days  are 
numbered,  perchance  not  even  days  but  hours," 
he  added,  as  his  voice  sank  to  a  whisper. 

"  I  sought  you  to  beg  you  to  leave  Rome  at 
once,  to  return  to  your  mission  in  America.  It  is 
madness  to  stay  here  a  single  hour." 

"  I  expected  as  much,"  said  the  Monk  calmly. 
"  And  since  this  is  so,  you  must  not  be  seen  with 
me,  or  you  too,  may  be  in  danger ;  even  you,"  he 
added,  "  would  not  escape  suspicion. 


ENTANGLEMENTS.  279 

"  As  to  me,  I  go  whenever  and  wherever  my 
superiors  send  me.  My  vows  ave  like  the  Ma- 
sonic, triple  in  their  nature.  They  are  poverty, 
chastity,  obedience.  Of  course  I  shall  remain 
here  until  I  am  ordered  elsewhere. 

"  But  whatever  may  become  of  me,  whether  I 
am  to  live  or  die,  the  dear  Lord  will  bless  you  for 
this  unselfish  act.  May  God  be  with  you,  my 
friend." 

And  so  saying,  he  disappeared  in  one  of  those 
sudden  curves  of  streets,  made  by  the  ungainly 
angles  of  some  alleys  that  meet  and  diverge  from 
this  populous  quarter  of  Campo  di  Fiori. 

"It  is  sublime,"  thought  the  Admiral.  "This 
is  the  calm,  yet  fervent,  martyr  courage  of  the 
early  Christians. 

"  Mnzzini  dares  to  go  where  he  chooses,  with  a 
price  set  on  his  head,  and  I  have  bowed  down  to 
the  bravery  of.  the  man  ;  yet  his  firmness  is  only 
the  boldness  of  bitter  defiance,  for  he  is  absolute 
Master  of  oath  bound  bands,  and  he  knows  he  is 
safe. 

"  His  daring  conies  of  his  awful  power. 

"  Of  another  stamp,  is  the  calm  deliberate  ac- 
ceptance of  death  by  this  monk.  His  resigna- 


280  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

tion  to  whatever  God  wills  is  heroic.  But  he 
shall  not  die  if  human  help  can  save  him." 

And  thus  resolving,  the  Carbonaro  with  a  new 
and  high  motive  for  action,  walks  on  rapidly,  while 
he  shapes  some  plan  for  immediate  action. 

Nor  did  he  notice  in  his  abstraction  that  he  was 
followed. 

Striding  onward  with  the  free  and  easy  gait  of 
the  sailor,  down  the  Via  de  Giubbonari,  past  the 
open  space  of  S.  Carlo  into  the  Via  del  Pianto, 
n'or  did  the  wonted  glow  of  enthusiasm  for  Rienzi 
stir  his  soul  as  he  passed  by  the  little  church  of 
St.  Angela,  or  under  the  low  arches  of  the  Por- 
tico of  Octavia.  Then  threading  through  inter- 
secting streets,  and  past  that  epitome  of  ages,  the 
Forum  Roman um  ;  on  under  the  arch  of  Titus, 
and  pausing  only  beside  the  ruined  walls  of  the 
Coliseum.  Steadily,  but  often  with  panting 
breath  and  spent  force,  Elsa  followed.  Here, 
there,  everywhere. 

But  always  in  sight  of  the  lode-star  that  guided 
her  course. 

"  Will  he  never  weary  ?  "  she  said  to  herself. 
"  It  is  ever  the  same  elastic  step  that  strained 


ENTANGLEMENTS.  281 

my  strength  to  keep  pace  with,  that  day  on  old 
South  Mountain. 

"Ah,  the  day  that  Gertrude  died, -the  dear  old 
fostermother,  the  only  mother  I  ever  knew.  And 
why  did  I  not  stay  with  my  race  ? 

"  But  I  shall  lose  sight  of  him  in  some  sudden 
turning,  if  I  think  of  aught  else. 

"Where  was  I?  ah,  yes.  His  stride  angered 
me  that  day,  for  I  fancied  he  meant  to  avoid  me. 

"I  like  it  now,  for  I  understand  it  as  a  phase 
of  the  man's  power.  A  curse  on  woman's  feeble- 
ness, and  a  double  curse  on  the  great  cause  un- 
known, that  willed  me  to  be  a  woman.  We  have 
heavy  burdens  and  no  strength  to  bear  them.  I 
hate  to  be  a  woman.  A  curse  on  fate. 

"  There !  he  hastens  on  under  the  Arch  of 
Titus.  No  drop  of  Jew's  blood  courses  through 
his  veins,  forsooth,  or  he  would  have  turned  aside. 
Nor  in  my  veins  either.  I  am  of  Ishmael.  We 
children  of  Hagar  hate  the  proud  race  of  Jacob 
and  of  Isaac.  Hasten  the  day  when  I  can  wreak 
my  vengeance.  Ha,  ha,  it  is  near  at  hand.  The 
old  Israelite,  he  is  fast  bound  in  the  meshes  I  have 
woven.  The  Beni-Berath.  It  will  be  a  dramatic 
scene,  and  perfect  revenge  for  me  and  for  my  race." 


282  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

At  last  he  pauses  under  the  grim  shadow  of  the 
Coliseum  that  shattered  stands  like  a  tower  of 
Babel,  to  mock  the  pride  of  man  and  give  hoarse 
echoes  of  "passing  away." 

"  It  is  a  type  of  the  Masonic,"  muttered  she. 
"  The  huge  masonry  that  blends  all  ages,  and 
means  man's  achievement  mingling  with  decay." 

The  Admiral  leaned  heavily  as  if  needing 
strength  for  some  half-formed  purpose,  against  the 
outer  wall  of  a  gloomy  arcade,  his  manly  figure 
outlined  with  the  chiara-oscura  light  of.  Italy's 
deep  blue  sky,  and  strangely  enough,  there  hung 
suspended,  giving  a  similitude  of  art  decoration 
over  his  head,  a  marvel  of  the  wonderful  flora 
peculiar  to  the  spot,  the  drooping  tendrils  of  a 
graceful  vine,  from  which  depended  delicate 
flowerets  that  issued  to  the  air  from  out  a  broken 
fissure,  as  if  to  give  benediction  to  the  tempest- 
tossed  wayfarer. 

There  was  a  slight  rustling  sound,  such  as  the 
serpent  gives  forth  as  he  traverses  a  leaf-strewn 
soil,  and  the  Admiral  looking  up  thereat,  for  the 
first  time  noticed  Elsa. 

"Well?"  he  exclaimed  in  a  tone  of  mingled 
inquiry  and  expostulation. 


ENTANGLEMENTS.  283 

"  Well,"  she  echoed  in  a  menacing  tone.  "  As 
I  forewarned  you  I  am  no  longer  Elsa,  nor  Hava. 
Behold  in  me  Judith,  she  of  the  avenging  poniard," 
and  so  saying,  there  swiftly  flashed  before  his  eyes 
the  circling  sweep  of  glittering  steel. 

"  Is  that  so?"  he  asked,  unmoved  and  in  frigid 
tone.  "  Pray,  for  whom  ?  When  ?  Where  ?  " 

"  Listen,"  she  faintly  whispered.  "  He  is 
doomed,  and  I  am  chosen  for  the  deadly  deed," 
and  as  she  said  so,  she  placed  in  his  hand  for  in- 
spection, a  slip  of  paper  in  the  cipher  he  knew  so 
well ;  then  seating  herself  on  a  fallen  stone, 
laughed  in  derisive  triumph,  until  the  thousand, 
thousand,  uncanny  echoes,  lingering  amid  dark 
crevices  and  sinking  into  sombre  pits  of  caves, 
made  fiendish  refrain. 

What  was  there  in  the  few  written  words  this 
woman  had  handed  him,  that  made  his  battle- 
scarred  heart  leap  wildly,  and  his  tumultuous 
surging  veins  swell  to  bursting? 

What  was  it  that  caused  this  well-worn  wrestler 
in  the  world's  arena  to  tremble  and  blanch  witli 
livid  pallor  and  a  gathering  film  obscure  his  vision? 

It  was  the  horrid  shock  of  the  sudden  dethrone- 
ment of  his  soul's  ideal. 


284  THE   SECRET    DIRECTORY. 

The  all  too  rude  destruction  of  a  cherished 
Ikon,  for  there  he  saw  with  his  blurred  eyes,  in 
cipher,  the  hidden  name,  the  name  he  most  loved 
to  honor,  Mazzini. 

It  was  the  Carbonari  writ  of  condemnation,  the 
Monk's  death-warrant,  to  be  executed  by  the 
furtive  stab  of  this  frail  woman. 

"  For  what  is  this  done  ?  "  she  asked  mockingly, 
"  for  betrayal.  This  monk,  this  apostate  Car- 
bonaro,  was  once  as  you  are  now,  of  the  Secret 
Directory.  He  has  become  an  open  and  avowed 
enemy.  Were  that  all,  little  would  Judith  care 
for  the  striking  deep  the  blow ;  short  shrift  would 
be  his.  But  for  you,  it  is  another  thing.  I 
pause " 

"  And  how  comes  it,  Elsa,"  he  asked,  "  that  you 
should  have  fathomed  this  mystery  of  my  life  ?  " 

"  I  might  bewilder  you,"  she  answered  haughtily, 
"  but  I  scorn  puerile  deception.  When  I  lie,  it  is 
for  a  real  purpose.  It  is  easily  told.  I  stood  near 
you  on  the  ship  in  youth's  attire,  and  I  heard  the 
story  of  the  Monk  who  saved  your  life." 

"  Thank  God  you  overheard  it,"  he  exclaimed. 

"Rather  thank  Satan,"  she  replied,  "for  the 
lucky,  well-timed,  eavesdropping." 


ENTANGLEMENTS.  285 

But  now  reverting  to  the  awful  act  of  his  chief, 
he  said,  gloomily,  "  And  he  signed  this  ?  " 

"  Your  very  bosom  friend,"  she  answered  taunt- 
ingly. 

"  It  is  assassination,"  he  muttered. 

"  No,"  said  she  calmly,  "  it  is  the  doctrine  of 
revenge  carried  out.  It  is  salutary  justice.  I 
like  it;  no  conscience,  no  scruples,  no  weakness 
holds  me  back.  I  crave  the  inexorable.  I  am 
only  withheld  by  the  shackles  of  love,  passion,  an 
all-consuming  ardor  for  you.  I 'shall  spare  him 
for  you,  though  for  the  disobedience  they  kill 
me." 

What  madness  of  overpowering  emotion  up- 
rooted the  resolution  of  this  Samson,  as  in  a  de- 
lirium of  grateful  joy,  he  enfolded  in  his  arms  and 
pressed  to  his  heart,  this  woman  whom  in  his  soul 
he  loathed. 

"  Now  let  me  die,  yes  swoon  away  and  die,  of 
this  great  rapture,"  she  faintly  whispered. 

And  the  interior  voice  of  his  soul  chided  his  fal- 
tering will,  and  made  answer,  "  Art  thou  crazed  ? 
Fly  the  temptress." 

Whereupon  breaking  away  as  one  in  greatest 
peril,  he  fled. 


286  THE   SECRET    DIRECTORY. 

An  hour  later  and  he  had  gained  the  sheltering 
privacy  of  his  room  at  the  hotel  Minerva,  where 
he  bravely  sought  to  view  the  whole  situation  as 
calmly  as  he  could. 

The  destruction  of  his  idealisms  was  entire.  In 
the  great  hurt  of  loss  of  faith  in  the  one  friend 
whom  he  trusted  above  all  others,  the  aspirations 
of  a  lifetime  were  destroyed. 

Amid  the  feverish  agitations  of  revolutionary 
excitements,  he  had  never  penetrated  the  decep- 
tive issues  of  a  false  creed.  But  now  the  whole 
subject  presented  itself  in  a  strong  and  clear 
light,  and  he  could  not  comprehend  how  he  had 
hitherto  been  so  blind  as  to  accept  so  many  fal- 
lacies as  truth. 

To  bring  about  universal  enfranchisement, 
through  secret  and  sanguinary  plots,  to  be  oath- 
bound  in  order  to  direct  the  more  securely,  secret 
combinations  against  authority  and  religion,  to 
pull  down  in  order  to  march  onward  ruthlessly, 
to  invade  a  friendly  kingdom,  to  desecrate  in  do- 
ing so  the  flag  of  his  country  by  making  it  pirat- 
ical, to  associate  with  banded  cutthroats  and 
bravos  calling  themselves  liberals,  he  a  gentleman, 
claiming  a  good  old  lineage. 


ENTANGLEMENTS.  287 

As  light  from  above  irradiated  his  soul,  its  force 
illuminated  every  devious  pathway  of  his  almost  for- 
gotten wanderings,  until  he  stood  as  if  exposed  in 
the  unbearable  focus  of  some  powerful  burning  lens. 

But  there  was  no  time  now  for  self-accusation, 
for  two  lives  both  strangely  bound  up  with  his 
own,  were  at  stake. 

"  After  I  shall  have  saved  the  Franciscan,  and 
sheltered  Elsa  from  the  death  penalty  that  will 
be  sure  to  follow  her  disobedience  to  this  cruel 
edict,  then  I  shall  try  and  bring  about  some  dis- 
entanglement of  these  chains  that  hold  me  closely 
bound." 

And  as  his  thoughts  measured  the  whole  situa- 
tion, his  full  knowledge  of  all  the  perils  that  en- 
viron the  recalcitrant  Mason,  made  him  realize  his 
own  deadly  peril  in  the  near  future. 

The  first  immediate  question  was  how  to  save 
the  Monk.  The  only  real  ^safety  was  in  a  return 
to  America,  and  this  the  Monk  refused  to  do,  ex- 
cept under  orders  from  his  spiritual  superiors. 

A  flashing  idea  decided  him. 

"I  know  the  American  Minister  very  well," 
he  said  to  himself,  "  and  I  will  go  instantly  and 
ask  for  an  audience  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff. 


288  THE   SECRET    DIRECTORY. 

"  Heaven  will  aid  my  good  intention,  and  the 
Franciscan  will  go  at  once  under  obedience. 

"Elsa's  peril  will  not  commence  until  after  it  is 
known  that  the  Monk  has  escaped." 

There  was  no  time  to  be  lost,  and  now  that  he 
had  resolved  what  to  do,  the  Admiral  started  to 
put  his  intention  into  immediate  execution. 

As  lie  was  hurriedly  crossing  the  hall  of  en- 
trance, he  was  startled  to  hear  the  familiar  voices 
of  an  episode  in  his  American  life,  and  looking 
round,  beheld  his  quondam  friends,  engaged  in 
that  amicable  controversy  about  nothing,  that 
marks  the  lunar  period  called  by  way  of  antithesis 
doubtless,  "  honeymoon." 

"  Miles,  I  cannot  see  the  Rome  of  my  imagina- 
tion, unless  I  can  be  presented  to  the  Pope." 

"  If  that  be  so,  Grace,"  he  replied,  "  we  will  go 
at  once  to  the  American  Minister  and  see  what 
can  be  done." 

"  And  first  of  all,"  said  the  Admiral,  advancing 
with  extended  hands,  "  you  will  not  refuse  to  let 
an  old  friend  congratulate  you." 

"  Our  friend,  our  dear,  dear  friend,"  they  both 
exclaimed  with  radiant  pleasure,  "  the  friend  to 
whom  we  owe  so  much."  And  there  was  a 


ENTANGLEMENTS.  289 

genuine  warmth  of  greeting  fresh  from  the 
heart. 

"  When  you  see  the  American  Minister,"  said 
the  Admiral,  "  please  have  my  name  included 
with  yours,  and  ask  him  to  try  and  procure  a 
speed}7  audience  for  us  all,  as  I  must  leave  Rome 
at  an  early  day,  and  I  wish  to  have  the  pleasure 
of  making  one  of  your  party." 

It  was  indeed  a  happiness  when  they  procured 
the  authorization  duly  signed,  and  the  pleasing  in- 
telligence that  on  the  morrow  the  Sovereign  Pon- 
tiff would  give  them  audience. 

Never  in  the  annals  of  history,  has  there  been 
a  more  gracious,  kindly,  loving-hearted  Sovereign, 
than  was  Pius  the  Ninth. 

Never  anything  more  absurd  than  the  pretexts 
used  by  intriguers,  who  at  that  time  plotted  to  de- 
stroy the  temporal  power  of  a  truly  paternal  gov- 
ernment, and  replace  that  fatherly  care  with  the 
selfish  domination  of  the  King  of  Sardinia. 

It  was  in  keeping  with  the  affable  and  amiable 

condescension  that  always  sought  the  happiness 

of  others  without  thought  of  self,  that  the  Holy 

Father  had  at  the  intercession  of  the  American 

19 


290  THE    SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

Minister,  consented  to  receive  on  the  morrow, 
these  Protestant  Americans. 

As  the  Admiral  knelt  at  the  feet  of  Pius  IX. 
he  said  hurriedly,  and  in  a  very  low  voice : 
"  Holy  Father,  a  Franciscan  monk  named  Vauer, 
now  at  the  Ara  Coeli  Convent,  is  marked  for  sud- 
den death.  He  refuses  to  leave  Rome,  knowing 
his  peril,  except  under  obedience." 

Bending  an  attentive  ear,  the  Pontiff  said  in  a 
low,  melodious  voice,  "  And  you,  my  son,  how 
comes  it  that  you  know  of  this  ?  " 

"•  As  a  Carbonaro,  and  of  the  Secret  Directory, 
Holy  Father,"  was  the  honest  reply. 

"  And  you  thus  risk  your  own  life  in  seeking  to 
save  the  Monk,"  the  generous  Pontiff  replied  with 
effusion,  his  pale  face  slightly  flushing.  "  Re- 
ceive, my  son,  the  blessing  of  Christ's  Vicar  for 
this  act  of  charity.  Your  soul  will  be  saved  in 
God's  own  good  time.  Go  in  peace,"  and  placing 
his  anointed  hands  upon  the  bowed  head  of  the 
Carbonaro,  the  Conspirator  was  blessed. 

As  when  our  Lord  walked  upon  the  storm- 
tossed  waters,  and  calmed  their  violence,  so  there 
came  with  the  fructifying  grace  of  this  blessing,  a 
rest  hitherto  unknown  to  this  troubled  soul. 


ENTANGLEMENTS.  291 

Oh,  how  sweet  is  peace,  the  divine  repose  that 
falls  upon  the  weary  heart  when  the  Prince  of 
Peace  enters  in. 

So  intent  had  the  Admiral  been  upon  the  one 
resolve  to  save  the  Franciscan,  that  the  whole 
pathetic  scene  in  which  he  had  been  an  actor, 
passed  before  him  as  might  some  phantasmal  illu- 
sion, and  that  marvelous  voice  whose  resonant 
tones  he  had  heard  addressed  to  others,  lingered 
long  in  his  imagination  as  some  musical  refrain 
unconsciously  repeated. 

Yet  one  thing  he  now  felt  certain  of,  that  the 
Monk  would  be  ordered  to  return  to  his  American 
mission.  He  knew  that  he  was  saved,  and  that 
not  even  the  desire  to  obtain  the  palm  of  martyr- 
dom, would  infringe  upon  that  first  duty  of  obedi- 
ence. 

The  Admiral  was  recalled  to  things  around  him 
by  the  clear,  calm  voice  of  Grace,  as  they  entered 
their  carriage  to  return  to  the  hotel. 

"  I  feel  that  I  shall  see  Rome  more  clearly 
now,"  she  said,  "  for  there  is  no  logical  sequence 
that  makes  Rome  the  central  point  of  the  Chris- 
tian world,  without  the  Sovereign  Pontiff." 

Miles  looked  at  the  Admiral  as  much  as  to  say, 


292  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

"  I  am  so  proud  of  her,  she  ought  to  be  a  Har- 
vard professor,"  but  having  merely  expressed  that 
sentiment  with  his  eyes,  he  said  very  sedately, 

"  And  I  too,  having  freed  myself  from  all  se- 
cret societies,  am  also  well  content  to  have  had 
the  benign  Pontiffs  blessing." 

"  Have  you  disassociated  yourself  from  the  Ma- 
sons ?  "  asked  the  Admiral. 

"  I  have,"  said  Miles  Stan  dish,  "  upon  a  mature 
consideration  of  the  whole  subject." 

"  And  may  I  ask,"  said  the  Admiral,  "  what 
were  your  impelling  motives  ?  I  found  in  the 
United  States  thousands  of  men  enrolled  in  the 
Masonic  Lodges,  especially  those  initiated  only  in 
the  three  first  symbolic  grades,  who  were  in  good 
faith,  sincerely  desiring  to  promote  the  general 
welfare  of  humanity,  and  affiliated  with  these  or- 
ganizations that  were  more  directly  Masonic, 
other  guilds  bound  together  by  secret  ties,  with  a 
common  motive,  and  that  motive,  whether  mis- 
taken or  laudable,  was  sincere." 

"  Granted  all  that  you  say,"  said  Miles,  "  and 
yet  these  Masonic  bodies  of  men  have  actually  as 
masses,  no  conception  of  the  ultimate  aims  of 


ENTANGLEMENTS.  293 

their  Masonic  leaders  in  Europe.  It  is  a  vast  and 
dangerous  network  of  entanglements. 

"  In  America  the  fact  has  not  been  appreciated, 
the  historic  fact,  that  Masonry  is  hydra-headed, 
and  that  being  multiform,  it  is  more  or  less  dan- 
gerous according  to  the  conditions.  In  the 
modern  history  of  Europe  for  instance,  Masonry 
has  been  the  constant  wet-nurse  of  revolution." 

"  I  am  forced  to  admit  it,"  replied  the  Admiral. 
"  Any  student  of  the  historic  events  of  the  past 
two  centuries,  will  find  that  this  key  unlocks 
many  otherwise  incomprehensible  acts ;  acts  of 
sovereigns  who  once  compromised,  have  been 
forced  to  accede  to  these  hidden  demands;  acts  of 
their  cabinets  from  similar  reasons ;  acts  of  par- 
liamentary leaders,  as  well  as  sudden  and  seem- 
ingly incomprehensible  popular  uprisings,  that  one 
can  trace  to  have  been  carefully  elaborated  con- 
spiracies, in  the  innermost  councils  of  Secret  So- 
cities." 

"  I  fear,"  said  Grace,  "  that  it  will  never  be 
understood,  that  the  voice  of  the  people  is  a  sheer 
popular  fallacy,  which  means  the  voice  of  the 
leaders,  made  known  through  the  people  if  you  will. 


294  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

The  oracle  speaks,  but  there  is  a  hidden  prompt- 
ing for  its  utterances." 

"  My  wife  is  quite  right,"  said  Miles  approv- 
ingly. "  There  never  was  and  there  never  will 
be  a  spontaneous  outburst  of  the  masses. 
These  masses  are  to  begin  with  like  unleavened 
dough  that  must  be  kneaded  and  made  yeasty  be- 
fore it  can  ferment. 

"  Now  for  this  preparatory  process,  an  oath- 
bound  secret  society  controlled  in  fact  by  a  hid- 
den power,  does  the  work  of  uprising  with  almost 
absolute  certainty." 

"  You  have  thought  deeply  I  perceive  on  this 
subject,"  said  the  Admiral,  "  and  I  am  forced  to 
confirm  your  conclusions.  There  is  a  saying  that 
corporations  are  soulless,  and  this  must  apply  with 
much  greater  force  to  all  oath-bound,  hidden 
organizations.  But  does  the  peril  exist  in  the 
United  States  where  the  conditions  vary  so 
essentially  from  those  in  Europe  ?  " 

"  It  exists,"  replied  Miles,  "  rather  in  the  possi- 
bility of  dangerous  combinations,  than  in  their 
actuality. 

"But  he  who  is  forewarned  is  forearmed.  I  am 
convinced  that  in  order  to  preserve  our  liberties  it 


ENTANGLEMENTS.  295 

is  essential  that  we  discard  all  societies  that  hold 
within  their  constitutional  laws,  the  elements  of 
conspiracy. 

"  I  do  not  think  that  the  youth  of  the  country 
are  sufficiently  guarded  against  these  dangers. 

"  It  can  not  indeed  be  too  often  repeated  and 
inculcated  in  the  minds  of  the  young  to  whom 
especially,  mystery  is  attractive,  that  in  a  free 
Republic  there  is  no  need  whatever,  direct  or  re- 
mote, for  secrecy,  and  that  that  which  is  done  in 
the  dark,  is  on  this  account  baleful. 

"No  charity,  no  almsgiving,  no  mutual  support, 
no  good  fellowship,  needs  for  its  perfect  develop- 
ment, mystery,  secrecy  or  oaths  with  penalties  at- 
tached, as  have  the  Masons." 

"  It  is  strange,"  said  Grace,  who  listened  as  she 
always  did  with  attention  and  intelligence,  "that 
men  who  join  these  societies  fail  to  grasp  their 
significance.  Think  of  the  power  thus  placed  in 
the  hands  of  unscrupulous  leaders,  the  dangerous 
intrigues  against  Society  and  the  State,  the  power 
that  could  thus  be  wielded  through  the  press,  and 
the  difficulty,  once  thus  usurped,  of  finding  a 
mode  of  repression." 

When  women  think  wisely,  men  are  interested 


296  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

listeners,  and  the  two  men  gave  the  sensible  re- 
marks of  this  clear-headed  woman  respectful  con- 
sideration. 

"You  may  be  surprised,"  said  the  Admiral,  "to 
hear  me  say  so,  but  I  too  am  changing  my 
opinions.  I  concur  with  you  both,  and  so  far  as 
the  United  States  is  concerned  I  am  prepared  to 
go  further  and  assert,  that  there,  a  state  within  a 
state,  would  be  fatal. 

"Disunion  which  would  seem  to  be  threatening, 
we  might  overcome,  but  this  would  be  dissolu- 
tion." 

Both  Grace  and  Miles  looked  astonished  to 
hear  these  sentiments  expressed  from  such  a 
source,  and  the  Admiral,  as  if  suddenly  realizing 
that  he  had  been  thinking  aloud,  pressing  their 
hands  with  friendl}'  grasp,  hurriedly  left  them  ; 
nor  did  they  meet  again  in  Rome. 

There  are  moments  in  life  that  are  epochs  for 
Eternity,  and  out  of  these  eventful  heart  conflicts, 
comes  a  growth  not  to  be  measured  by  time. 

The  Admiral  knew  that  one  more  sacred  duty 
remained  before  he  could  be  at  liberty  to  think  of 
himself,  or  to  form  his  own  plans. 

Elsa  must  be  extricated.     But  this  was  some- 


ENTANGLEMENTS.  297 

thing  more  difficult  of  accomplishment,  and  more 
uncertain,  than  had  been  the  rescue  of  the  Monk, 
even  against  his  own  will. 

Elsa  having  failed  to  execute  the  part  assigned 
her,  would  now  be  dealt  with  according  to  their 
own  terrible  vows,  and  the  Carbonaro  knew  that 
if  she  remained  in  Italy,  or  even  in  Europe,  that  it 
was  only  a  matter  of  time  as  to  when  her  death 
doom  must  be  met. 

She  had  spared  the  Monk  because  of  her  wild 
passion  for  himself,  and  although  his  soul  ab- 
horred her  boldly  proffered  homage,  yet  his 
heart  acknowledged  the  debt  of  gratitude  that 
was  her  due. 

"  A  life  for  a  life,"  he  muttered,  "  is  an  eternal 
law.  This  woman  has  spared  the  Monk  whose 
brother  freely  gave  his  own  life  to  liberate  me  ; 
and  shall  I  pause  if  need  be,  to  give  my  life  in 
order  to  deliver  her  ? 

"  Strange  entanglements  of  fate,  that  have  woven 
their  meshes  so  closely  around  me. 

"  And  after  all  is  done,  what  is  to  be  my  own 
fate  ?  " 

And  well  might  he  ask  himself  this  solemn 
question,  for  pitiless  and  terrible  are  the  punish- 


298  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

rnents  that  threaten  the  recalcitrant,  by  the  Grand 
Orient  and  the  Carbonari. 

And  now  that  the  scales  had  fallen  from  his 
hitherto  bandaged,  blinded  eyes,  how  clearly  he 
saw  the  whole  scope  of  their  diabolic  schemes. 

Why  was  it,  that  he  had  never  before  meas- 
ured their  infernal  meaning  and  read  between  the 
lines  ? 

"  Thrice  sodden  fool  that  I  have  been,"  groaned 
he,  "  thus  to  have  wasted  the  flower  of  my  life  in 
wrongdoing." 

Then  when  he  contrasted  the  placid  companion- 
ship of  Miles  Standish  and  his  accomplished  wife, 
a  content  based  upon  an  enduring  and  mutual 
esteem,  with  the  loneliness  of  his  own  turbulent 
career,  and  remembered  that  if  securing  happi- 
ness was  a  test  of  success  and  wisdom,  he  was 
forced  to  admit  that  his  life  had  been  a  miserable 
failure. 

And  yet  he,  like  many  other  ardent  men,  had 
been  misled  by  the  high-sounding  watchwords,  to 
which  each  man  gives  the  interpretation  of  his  own 
idealisms. 

Satan  understood  the  power  of  this  sort  of  be- 
guilement,  when  in  the  garden  of  Eden  he  spoke 


ENTANGLEMENTS.  299 

\ 

to  the  first  of  the  human  race  of  the  "  Tree  of  Life," 
knowing  it  to  be  the  tree  of  death. 

In  the  clear  mental  review  of  his  newly 
awakened  perceptions,  the  Carbonaro  sadly  re- 
calls that  the  Masonic  passwords,  the  symbols,  the 
watchwords  have  always  one  meaning,  vengeance  ; 
and  that  the  higher  one  rises  in  the  secret  orders, 
the  more  stringent  and  cruel  are  the  vows. 

The  Chevalier  Kadosch  on  his  first  initiation, 
has  the  poniard  placed  in  his  hands  ready  to  strike 
the  deadly  blow,  and  the  most  sacred  words  in- 
spire terror. 

In  the  very  old  English  Masonic  manuscripts,  the 
Kadosch  is  called  Killer,  Assassin. 

These  horrible  maxims  have  their  application, 
and  nothing  but  the  secrecy,  the  mystery,  in  which 
they  have  been  and  are  enshrouded,  have  saved 
them  from  the  execration  of  mankind. 

On  the  evening  of  the  next  day  after  the  con- 
versation just  given,  there  was  to  be  held  in  a 
certain  retired  locality,  a  Carbonari  Chapter  for 
the  consideration  of  much  important  business,  at 
which  the  Grand  Orient  would  also  affiliate.  • 

At  this  time  and  place,  the  Admiral  hoped  to  be 
able  to  anticipate,  or  to  counteract  any  malign 


300  THE  SECRET  DIRECTORY. 

scheme  against  Elsa's  safety,  and  then  try  and  in- 
duce her  to  leave  Europe,  where  involved  as  she 
now  was,  in  anarchistic  plots,  she  would  be  sure, 
sooner  or  later,  to  perish  miserably. 

As  to  his  own  action,  he  had  decided  to  disen- 
gage himself  from  the  danger  of  his  position  in 
Europe,  by  a  return  to  America,  so  soon  as  Elsa's 
safety  was  secured. 

He  knew  that  such  and  so  great  was  her  in- 
fatuation for  him,  that  if  she  was  made  aware  of 
his  determination,  she  would  go  wherever  he  went, 
and  it  was  with  a  sharp  twinge  of  self-reproach, 
that  he  had  to  confess  to  himself,  that  it  would  be 
an  untold  relief  to  have  her  in  some  way  discon- 
nected forever  from  his  life. 


CREEDS   AND   THEIR   OUTCOME.  301 


CHAPTER  XII. 

CREEDS  AND  THEIR  OUTCOME.      THE  ULTIMATE. 

IT  was  in  the  early  evening  of  the  succeeding 
day,  that  the  Admiral  filled  with  gloomy  fore- 
bodings as  to  the  possible  outcome  of  the  harass- 
ing complications  that  surrounded  him,  threaded 
the  intricacies  of  the  involved  and  tortuous  maze 
of  streets  belonging  to  a  quarter  of  Rome  near 
the  Ghetto,  which  was,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  with- 
drawn from  official  protection. 

Presently  he  turned  into  a  long  contracted 
street  that  ran  parallel  to  the  Tiber,  from  which 
diverged  numerous  deep  lanes. 

It  was  a  Mazzinian  quarter,  this  street  of  Tan- 
ners, where  nestled  a  revolutionary  horde  prone 
to  revolt. 

At  the  very  end  of  one  of  these  narrow  alleys, 
there  rises  to  view,  the  sombre  decadence  of  a 
palace,  once  the  proud  home  of  a  family  which  in 
the  lapse  of  centuries  became  extinct. 

This  classic  structure  is   now   surrounded   by 


302  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

miserable  hovels,  that  acutally  lean  against  it  for 
support. 

Yet  the  ancient  edifice  in  spite  of  its  incongru- 
ous and  unsightly  environment,  still  retains  the 
dignity  of  the  style  of  the  Romans. 

Indeed  the  very  squalor  that  hemmed  it  round, 
gave  it  the  quaint  picturesqueness  of  sharp  con- 
trast. 

Passing  under  the  arches  of  its  ample  portico,  he 
entered  a  court  of  noble  proportions  still  encircled 
by  unbroken  columns,  under  whose  vaulted  arcades, 
gay  cavaliers  and  haughty  dames  no  longer  linger, 
except  perchance  in  the  dim  shadows  of  a  flitting 
border  land. 

The  massive  walls  of  this  antiquated  building 
rise  on  the  further  side  sheer  from  the  Tiber,  and 
are  pierced  here  and  there  at  odd  intervals  with 
inconceivably  small  window  apertures. 

Below  the  foundation  of  the  present  pile,  sunk 
under  the  burden  of  its  ten  centuries  or  more,  and 
far  below  the  water  level,  are  underground  stories, 
no  one  cares  to  know  how  many. 

Rapidly  passing  through  this  classic  entrance, 
the  Admiral  traversed  an  inner  court,  from 
whence  he  ascended  a  marble  stairway  that  led  in 


CREEDS   AND   THEIR   OUTCOME.  303 

a  long  double  flight  one  on  either  side,  to  a  large 
triangular  hall  above. 

This  was  the  Lodge  of  the  secret  meetings  of 
the  Carbonari  of  Rome,  where  surrounded  by  a 
swarming  and  excitable  populace  in  sympathy 
with  the  Cause,  any  arrest  sought  to  be  made  there, 
or  any  official  inspection  or  interference  would 
have  been  dangerous  if  not  impossible. 

A  place  admirably  chosen  for  the  safe  meeting 
of  the  Carbonari  conspirators. 

On  this  evening  a  Chapter  of  unusual  signifi- 
cance was  to  be  held,  inasmuch  as  it  had  been  de- 
cided by  the  Secret  Directory,  that  it  would  be  a 
salutary  object  lesson  for  the  furtherance  of  the 
Masonic  discipline  in  general,  to  erect  into  a  reli- 
gion under  the  very  shadow  of  St.  Peter's,  the  Car- 
bonari creed  united  to  the  dogmas  of  the  Grand 
Orient,  as  had  already  been  done  by  the  Grand 
Orient  in  Paris. 

In  effect  the  Masonic  ceremonies  of  Baptism, 
Confirmation  and  Marriage,  were  that  evening  to 
be  given  by  the  High  Priest  from  the  Altar,  and 
the  whole  proceedings  were  to  be  festively  closed 
by  a  ball. 

By  such  a  galimatias  and  its  subsequent  repeti- 


304  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

tions,  it  was  shrewdly  supposed  that  the  Secret 
Societies  would  be  insensibly  prepared  for  the 
contemplated  demolition  of  the  bulwarks  of  the 
ancient  faith. 

The  foundation  stones  of  the  new  Temple  of 
Solomon,  were  thus  to  be  laid  broad  and  deep  as 
Hades,  and  the  Carbonari  mind  accustomed  to  the 
indignities  it  was  proposed  at  as  early  a  day  as 
practicable  to  heap  upon  the  Sovereign  Pontiff, 
in  the  usurpation  of  his  rights  as  a  temporal 
Prince. 

The  Mazzinian  plan  which  made  a  temporary 
puppet  of  Victor  Emanuel,  was  far  too  compre- 
hensive to  stop  where  they  were  with  the  robbery 
of  Sicily. 

This  beginning  was  but  the  first  step  that  led  to 
Venice,  as  well  as  the  absorption  of  all  the  small 
kingdoms  of  Italy,  but  "chiefly  of  Rome. 

It  was  understood  that  to  carry  out  the  scheme 
of  young  Italy,  both  authority  and  religion  must 
be  made  subservient,  if  not  actually  destroyed. 

To  uproot  reverence  for  the  Sacraments  by  re- 
placing them  with  sacrilegious  counterfeits,  to 
poisoaa  ttifoe  minds  ajid  souls  of  the  young  by  mak- 
ing $hena  ,at  an  early  age  children  of  the  Lodge 


CREEDS    AND   THEIR   OUTCOME.  30£ 

and  not  of  the  Church,  to  enlist  woman  in  this 
nefarious  crusade  against  all  that  is  holy  in  her 
sacred  rights  as  wife  and  mother,  by  sensuous  and 
captivating  appeals  to  the  larger  license  of  so-called 
freedom,  were  schemes,  the  outcome  of  the  widely 
promulgated  doctrines  of  Voltaire,  of  the  illumin- 
ism  of  St.  Martin,  of  Weishaupt,  Mazzini.  Karl 
Marx,  Bakounine  and  other  of  their  writers  and 
leaders. 

In  the  day-dawn  of  a  newborn  light,  these 
thoughts  revolved  in  the  mind  of  the  Admiral,  as 
he  reached  the  door  of  the  outer  Lodge  guarded 
as  always  by  the  Tyler,  sword  in  hand. 

Giving  the  password  of  Nekam,  or  Vengeance 
he  was  at  once  admitted. 

Indeed  he  was  well  known. 

Even  the  trained  and  sated  eye  of  the  Admiral 
received  a  vivid  impression,  as  the  inner  door  of 
this  so-called  Hall  of  vengeance  closed  upon  him. 

This  Vendita  or  Lodge  was  an  immense  space 
of  triangular  form  hung  in  red,  bestrewn  with  an 
embroidery  of  black  tears. 

At  the  apex  of  the  triangle  was  an  Altar  of 
black  marble,  recalling  the  Mussulman  holy  stone, 
or  Caaba,  representing  Divinity,  which  was  cov- 
20 


306  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

ered  with  a  red  altar  cloth,  in  the  centre  of  which 
was  wrought  a  poniard,  dispersing  nine  flames  of 
red  light,  with  a  border  of  black  stars. 

This  Altar  was  surmounted  by  a  revolving 
burning  bush  in  a  circular  framing,  round  which 
were  depicted  the  twelve  images  of  the  Zodiac. 

At  the  right  side  of  this  pantheistic  Altar,  dedi- 
cated to  the  malign  genius  of  revenge,  stood  a 
superb  white  marble  nude  figure  of  Isis  unveiled, 
Goddess  of  Nature ;  and  placed  on  its  triangular 
base,  were  the  Masonic  emblems  of  triangles,  cir- 
cles, squares,  many  hieroglyphics,  and  the  sacred 
numbers  3,  5,  7,  9,  12. 

At  the  left  angle  of  this  awful  Altar,  hung  a 
picture  of  three  heads  surrounding  a  flaming 
poniard. 

When  the  Admiral  entered,  the  horrid  rites 
were  in  full  progress,  and  the  assembly  presented 
a  decidedly  picturesque  appearance  as  they  stood 
in  long  rows,  the  men  robed  in  black  and  their 
heads  wrapped  in  many-folded  red  turbans  of 
patriarchal  form. 

The  Vendita  was  androgynous,  or  composed  of 
men  and  women. 

The  women  wore  black  dresses  and  the  jewel  of 


CBEEDS  AND   THEIR   OUTCOME.  307 

the  poniard  and  Judith  ;  not  the  chaste  Judith,  but 
she  the  elect  one,  to  revenge.  Being  an  androgy- 
nous Lodge,  the  spaces  were  not  divided  by  the 
points  of  compass  as  is  usual  in  the  Masonic  Lodges, 
but  by  climate,  that  is,  Asia,  America,  Africa, 
Europe. 

Each  member  held  a  poniard,  and  was  decorated 
with  a  cordon  rouge,  passing  from  the  left  shoulder 
to  the  right  hip,  and  suspended  to  it  was  a  small 
gold  poniard  with  silver  blade ;  and  they  had  also 
white  rosettes  held  in  place  by  red  ribbon. 

The  Venerable  Grand  Master  and  the  Grand 
Master  Elect,  were  decorated  with  a  large  tricolor 
ribbon,  cordon  bleu  and  green  mixed  with  yellow 
centre,  with  three  jewels  suspended,  viz :  an  azure 
triangle,  a  golden  sun,  and  a  terrestial  globe. 

Over  the  arched  doorway  of  entrance,  was  a  fine 
life-size  painting  of  Saint  Theobald  their  patron. 

The  High  Priest  stood  before  the  Altar,  having 
just  enacted  the  hideous  parody  of  a  sacred  Chris- 
tian mystery,  in  a  so-called  communion,  in  which 
he  had  assumed  to  consecrate  a  mixture  of  milk, 
oil  and  wine,  which  was  poured  into  a  human 
skull,  and  placed  on  the  altar  called  "  Hiram." 

The  entire  Vendita  had  just  partaken  of  the 


308  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

host  of  farina,  which  was  passed  to  each  one  pres- 
ent at  the  point  of  a  golden  trowel,  when  the  so- 
called  Sacramental  wine  was  also  taken  from  the 
Altar  in  its  horrible  cup  and  handed  round. 

Each  one  of  the  Carbonari  sipped  of  the  mix- 
ture from  the  monstrous  chalice,  as  if  thereby  to 
infuse  a  thirst  for  vengeance,  like  liquid  consum- 
ing fire  into  every  vein. 

As  each  man  and  woman  drank  damnation,  a 
great  hoarse  cry  arose,  but  not  to  Heaven,  when 
they  gave  their  communicating  toast  of  "Venge- 
ance." 

Whereupon,  downward  sank  that  fierce  prayer 
that  could  never  rise  to  pierce  the  clouds,  down 
through  the  stifling  underground  vaults,  the 
humid  reeking  cellars,  the  noisome  slimy  depths, 
the  caverns  of  the  surging  sea,  until  the  innermost 
seething  caldrons  of  hell  reechoed  "  Vengeance." 

u  Blessed  be  God,"  thought  the  Admiral,  shud- 
deringly,  "  my  late  arrival  spared  me  this  sacri- 
legious mockery  of  the  Last  Supper." 

So  thinking,  having  first  retired  into  a  small 
anteroom  where  he  duly  arrayed  himself  with  the 
insignia  of  his  rank,  he  dropped  into  his  assigned 
place  of  honor  as  Sovereign  Grand  Commander. 


CREEDS    AND   THEIR    OUTCOME.  309 

"This  mummery  which  was  invented  to  terrify 
the  masses,"  thought  lie,  "  and  to  mould  them  to 
deeds  of  violence,  is  after  all  to  my  mind  not  so 
appalling,  as  the  hideous  Rose-Croix.  There,  the 
banquet  table  is  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  the  drink- 
ing cups  are  chalices,  the  feast  day  of  days  is 
Good  Friday,  the  crucifix,  emblem  of  our  re- 
demption, is  trampled  under  foot  with  loud  cries 
of  '  a  bas  VinfameJ  and  the  secret  word  is  Inri. 

"  May  God  forgive  me  for  ever  having  joined  in 
this  awful  blasphemy  and  denial  of  Christ. 

"  No  wonder  this  black  sin  is  the  mystic  veil 
that  the  highest  initiate  alone  penetrates,  for 
truly  the  Masonic  work  can  go  no  further." 

Absorbed  in  these  painful  thoughts,  he  scarcely 
noticed  the  entrance  of  four  young  people  of 
tender  age,  robed  in  red  and  white  sashes. 

They  were  led  to  the  Altar  by  the  Venerable, 
and  attended  by  two  Carbonari,  who  were  to  stand 
as  sponsors  ;  for  these  children  were  to  receive 
Masonic  baptism  and  confirmation  as  children  of 
the  Vendita. 

They  walked  arm  in  arm,  boy  and  girl,  two  and 
two  ;  and  standing  at  the  foot  of  the  Altar,  were 
thus  addressed  by  the  High  Priest  who  said : 


310  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

"  The  Priesthood  takes  the  child  in  charge  from 
its  birth. 

"  The  Vendita  should  do  no  less. 

"  We  do  not  offer  you  religion,  we  offer  you 
liberty." 

The  voice  of  the  Priest  was  here  drowned  by 
an  uproarious  round  of  applause. 

Hereupon  the  sponsors  were  spoken  to  by  their 
Masonic  names  of  Hiram  and  Judith,  and  asked : 
"  Do  you  consent  to  take  the  place  of  father  and 
mother,  these  natural  guardians  being  dead?  " 

Then  they  both  exclaimed,  "  I  do  consent." 

"  Do  you  promise  to  do  your  utmost  to  have 
these  children  given  an  education  free  from  all 
prejudice,  bias,  or  superstition,  and  in  strict  con- 
formity with  the  principles  of  Carbonarism  ?  " 

"  I  do  promise,"  was  the  joint  reply. 

"  Then,"  declared  the  High  Priest  raising  his 
hand  as  if  in  benediction,  "  in  the  name  of  the 
holy  Trinity  of  Liberty,  Equality  and  Fraternity, 
and  especially  under  the  sacred  aegis  of  liberty  of 
conscience,  we  publicly  declare  these  neophytes  to 
be  masonically  baptized  and  respectively  called 
each  one  after  his  or  her  patron  saint,  Reuben  and 


CKEEDS   AND   THEIR   OUTCOME.  311 

Sappho,  Karl  Marx  and  Theobalda.  Children  of 
the  Vendita  rejoice." 

Then  there  was  a  renewed  and  still  more 
clamorous  outburst  of  applause. 

The  children  who  trembled  violently  and  looked 
frightened,  were  now  bidden  to  kneel,  when  the 
High  Priest  once  again  addressed  the  Chapter. 

"  Good  Cousins,  the  Vendita  says,  Let  little 
children  come  unto  me,  for  of  such  is  the  swift- 
coming  freedom  of  the  human  race,  whose  long 
suffering  is  nearly  at  an  end.  You  are  now, 
Reuben  and  Sappho,  Karl  Marx  and  Theobalda, 
admitted  as  candidates  for  initiation  through  the 
baptism  which  by  the  blessing  of  the  great  Archi- 
tect of  the  Universe  you  have  just  received. 

"  You  will  now  break  the  bread  and  drink  the 
wine  of  our  holy  mysteries,  and  you  will  hence- 
forth in  addition  be  invested  with  the  Masonic 
jewel  of  the  trowel,  in  token  of  your  elevation  and 
confirmation  as  wards  of  this  Vendita." 

Thereupon,  to  each  child  was  handed  a  small 
silver  trowel,  fastened  to  a  red  rosette. 

The  High  Priest  then  said:  "Arise,  children. 
In  the  triple  names  3^011  are  confirmed." 

These    wards    of    the    coming   of  anti-Christ, 


312  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

pledges  of  Satan's  kingdom  on  earth,  were  then 
conducted  blindfolded  and  tear-stained  to  the 
outer  street ;  as  the  vaulted  roof  rang  again  with 
the  wild  heathen  acclaim  of  the  emancipation  of 
the  nineteenth  century  from  the  superannuated 
superstitions  of  the  priests. 

The  ribald  shouts  long  lingered  in  the  opening 
fissures  and  darksome  crannies  of  the  ancient 
Masonry,  and  in  hoarse  whisperings  filled  with 
their  raucous  noise,  the  network  of  subterranean 
passages,  startling  the  skurrying  pagan  wraiths, 
from  the  uneasy  sleep  of  centuries,  as  they  sank 
deeper  in  their  noisome  beds  of  mold. 

There  now  succeeded  the  hush  of  intense  ex- 
pectation, for  it  was  whispered  throughout  the 
Vendita,  that  the  crowning  blow  to  the  bigotry  of 
the  past  was  about  to  be  given  by  the  celebration 
of  a  Masonic  marriage. 

The  pleasing  surprise  of  the  joyful  melody  of 
some  concerted  stringed  instruments  placed  in  a 
concealed  alcove,  now  delighted  the  ear,  as  a 
score  of  young  maidens  arrayed  in  ciel-bleu,  ad- 
vanced toward  the  Altar,  singing  glad  nuptial 
songs  full  of  fire  and  passion,  Sapphic  hymns. 

Even   the  Admiral,  who  had  been  an  apathetic 


CREEDS   AND   THEIR   OUTCOME.  313 

witness  of  the  preceding  ceremonies  was  not  un- 
moved. 

"  All  the  world  loves  a  lover,"  and  no  one  looks 
upon  a  bride  with  indifference. 

The  bridal  hour  is  the  supreme  hour  when  wo- 
man reigns. 

The  sudden  clash  of  cymbals  produced  wild  ef- 
fects of  Israel's  triumph,  and  the  epithalamium 
strains  were  filled  .with  the  barbaric  notes  inter- 
mingled of  the  Zingari  and  Moorish  airs. 

The  effect  was  indescribable  of  this  confused 
medley  of  the  licentious  joy  of  all  nations.  It 
was  the  uproar  of  the  tower  of  Babel,  within  the 
Temple  of  Solomon,  in  her  modern  hall  of  venge- 
ance. 

It  was  the  Saturnalia  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
leaning  into  the  Chaos  of  a  new,  unmeasured, 
thousand  years. 

The  eagerly  looked-for  bride  entered  as  the 
buoyant  sounds,  exultant  filled  the  hall.  She 
walked  alone  by  the  side  of  the  groom,  not  lean- 
ing upon  his  arm,  but  in  her  sustained  pose  and 
almost  defiant  manner,  proclaiming  as  it  were, 
that  she  was  a  woman  of  the  new  evangel,  the 
emancipated. 


314  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

Yet  oh,  how  transcendently  beautiful  she  was. 

How  graceful,  how  arrowy,  how  pliant  and 
most  enticing ! 

Arrayed  in  deep  orange,  lustrous  satin,  with 
diamond-clasped  scarlet  girdle,  within  whose  zone 
rested  a  gleaming  poniard,  with  wealth  of  price- 
less jewels  flashing  their  iridescent  light  over  the 
delicate  rounded  contour  of  bared  arms  and 
neck  ;  with  crescent  crown  of  opals  tinting  the 
masses  of  cherub's  curls  that  crowned  the  dainty 
head  with  illusory  rainbow  colors ;  casting  lan- 
guorous glances  not  upon  the  chosen  one  at  her 
side,  but  wantonly  sent  here,  there,  everywhere. 

Every  man's  heart  throbbed  the  faster,  as  he 
felt  the  siren's  alluring  spell. 

Who  was  she  ? 

Whence  came  she? 

Had  the  divine  Cagliostro  resuscitated  a  Venus 
or  a  Sappho  to  set  the  world  aflame  ? 

Only  one  being  in  all  that  assemblage  knew  this 
enchantress,  as  the  Admiral  with  profound  amaze- 
ment beheld  in  the  bewitching  bride,  Elsa. 

Elsa  to  save  whom  he  was  there  that  night,  thus 
to  fulfil  his  last  mission  as  a  Carbonaro. 

Her  triumphant  glance  met  his  inquiring  eye  as 


CREEDS   AND   THEIR   OUTCOME.  315 

she  gazed  upon  him  in  response,  with  the  old  pas- 
sion of  unconcealed  love,  and  darted  from  him  an 
oblique  look  of  hate  upon  her  companion.  And 
lie,  that  other  one  ? 

Even  the  Admiral  was  disturbed  by  the  presence, 
while  the  entire  company  of  good  cousins  with 
bated  breath  remained  immovable. 

There  were  awed  whispers  of,  "  It  is  the  Beni- 
B6rath." 

Old,  bent,  bald,  withered,  without  majesty  or 
grace  of  person,  his  feeble  body  scarcely  sup- 
ported the  wonderful  dome-shaped  head,  with  its 
piercing  eagle  eyes  like  electric  flames. 

The  hooked  aquiline  nose  told  his  race,  and  the 
ponderous  under  jaw  betokened  inflexible  will. 

There  were  wondrous  legends  about  this  man. 

The  common  people  said  he  was  the  old  Assas- 
sin of  the  Mountains,  while  others,  still  believed 
him  to  be  a  re -in  carnation  of  Manes,  who  ever 
directs  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  tide  o€  events 
from  some  inaccessible  eyrie. 

But  the  Admiral  knew  but  too  well  who  he 
was,  and  what  he  was,  for  twice,  when  with  Maz- 
ziiii,  he  had  sought  him  in  stress  of  circumstance, 


316  THE  SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

in  his  marvelous  Cabinet,  story  upon  story  un- 
derground in  this  very  palace. 

He  was  the  one,  to  whom  Mazzini  bowed  to,  and 
dreaded — this  terrible  old  man. 

And  what  gave  him  this  awesome  power  ? 

This  Beni-Berath,  who  was  never  visible,  but 
who  was  ever  felt  by  the  weight  of  his  hidden 
hand. 

He  held  the  sinews  of  war,  his  fiat  decided,  for 
he  was  the  directing  Head  of  the  Universal  Israel- 
itish  Alliance. 

Judaism  and  Masonry  run  in  parallel  lines,  and 
are  and  have  been  interdependent. 

The  Jews  even  claim  to  have  founded  Masonry, 
and  it  may  be  so,  for  it  bears  their  imprint. 

But  be  that  as  it  may,  the  strong  resemblance 
is  suggestive.  They  are  alike  cosmopolitan. 
They  have  no  nationality,  but  a  strict  solidarity  of 
union,  and  they  have  a  common  ultimate  aim. 
This  man  represented  and  he  alone,  the  ninetieth 
degree  of  the  rite  of  Misraim  ;  of  the  Supreme 
Council  of  the  Egyptian  rule  of  Misraim. 

If  the  grand  work  of  Masonry  is  the  figurative 
rebuilding  of  the  Temple  of  Solomon,  as  is  taught 
in  every  Masonic  Lodge,  from  the  very  primer  of 


CREEDS   AND   THEIR   OUTCOME.  317 

the  Entered  Apprentice,  then  the  Beni-Berath 
was  the  chief  builder  of  this  structure,  for  the 
restoration  of  Judaism. 

Or  if  we  grant  that  by  a  distorted  meaning,  tin's 
Temple  typifies  Nature,  and  the  God  they  adore 
Nature,  or  Pan,  this  Israelite  was  still  there,  as  the 
chosen  exponent  of  the  Grand  Architect  of  the 
Universe. 

Again,  substitute  rights  of  man  for  law  of  God, 
and  you  yet  found  him  at  the  foot  of  the  Altar, 
erected  in  honor  of  these  rights,  ready  to  sustain 
them. 

The  tumult  of  music  had  ceased  as  these  two 
stood  upon  the  first  step  of  the  Altar,  where  the 
High  Priest  awaited  their  coming  and  thus  spoke  : 

"Good  Cousins,  Hava  and  Beni-Berath,  in  the 
name  of  that  emancipation  of  humanity  we  pray 
for,  this  Vendita  congratulates  you  on  this  Ma- 
sonic union. 

"  We  bow  before  the  sublime  courage  that 
tramples  down  the  effete  usages  of  drivelling  tra- 
dition. No  unbearable  chains  devised  by  the 
tyranny  of  clericalism  will  bind  your  lives,  no 
civil  contract  obligates  you. 


318  THE   SECRET    DIRECTORY. 

"  You  are  absolutely  free.  Your  marriage  rests 
solely  on  reciprocal  love. 

"  As  our  illustrious  Bakounine  forcibly  says, 
*  The  union  of  the  sexes  is  only  an  affair  of  mutual 
necessity.' 

"  The  clerical  marriage  on  the  contrary,  is  a 
slavery  worse  than  death,  if  a  mistake  is  made. 

"But  you  are  not  in  fetters,  for  if  you  cease  to 
love,  I  repeat  it,  that  moment  you  are  free. 

"Ours  is  simply  the  collectivity  of  productive 
forces,  the  solidarity  of  tastes  and  interests. 

"  Hava,  and  Beni-Be'rath,  what  do  you  believe 
as  to  the  indissolubility  of  marriage  ?  " 

They  replied  in  unison  :  "  We  believe  it  to  be 
contrary  to  the  laws  of  nature  and  of  reason." 

"And  what  then,"  asked  the  High  Priest,  "is 
the  corrective?" 

They  again  replied  with  one  voice,  "  Divorce." 

"Well  done,  good  and  faithful  cousins,  enter 
thou  into  the  joys  of  the  new  dispensation,"  said 
the  High  Priest  with  hands  raised  in  benediction, 
and  all  the  Vendita  shouted,  "  Well  done." 

Then  the  High  Priest  descending  from  the 
Altar,  embraced  the  bride  Masonically. 


CREEDS   AND  THEIR   OUTCOME.  319 

The  crowning  act  of  irreligion,  in  striving  to 
disintegrate  society  had  taken  place. 

As  the  plaudits  of  the  Vendifca  again  broke 
forth,  the  Beni-Bi'rath  suddenly  turning  his  back 
upon  the  Altar,  as  one  weary  of  masquerading, 
commanding  silence  with  an  imperious  gesture, 
said  in  a  strong  harsh  voice,  as  one  with  plenitude 
of  power : 

"  Good  Cousins  all, 

"  The  true  Masonic  secret  has  been  given  you 
in  this  ceremony,  which  is  a  protest  against  all 
authority,  either  of  usage,  of  civil  contract,  or  of 
religious  tyranny. 

"  One  can  go  no  higher,  I  hear  you  say.  Yes, 
that  is  true,  if  one  follows  the  sequences,  which 
are  the  right  of  individual  liberty  to  destroy 
life,  if  need  be,  whence  argues  Malthus. 

"  Add  to  this  grand  philosophical  freedom,  one 
other  right,  and  the  emancipation  of  humanity  is 
reached,  the  triumph  of  individualism  complete. 
I  mean  the  right  of  self-destruction. 

"As  our  great  Voltaire  remarks,  'Suicide  is 
true  grandeur  of  soul.' 

"And  listen  to  our  own  Jean  Witt:  who  callsit 
*  never  a  crime,  but  work  of  courage  and  of  free- 


320  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

dom.'  Yes,  this  refuge  for  the  heavy-laden  is 
within  reach  of  all.  It  is  the  patei-exitus."1 

As  the  wicked  old  man  gave  forth  these  blas- 
phemous utterances  in  his  strident  tones,  the 
Admiral,  too  deeply  moved,  and  indignant  to  re- 
main longer,  silently  left  the  Lodge,  then,  there  and 
forever. 

"  I  can  no  longer  endure,"  he  said  to  himself, 
"this  travesty  of  all  things  sacred.  A  semblance 
of  the  Sacrements,  and  not  once  the  name  of  God. 
This  is  the  very  Saturnalia  of  Satan.  How  can  the 
nations  be  elevated  amid  such  sombre  and  heathen 
rites  ?  Ah,  at  last  I  begin  to  understand  why  the 
lightning  of  revolutionary  storms  has  for  centu- 
ries played  around  the  head  of  the  Sovereign  Pon- 
tiff, but  must  fall  harmless  until  the  days  are  ac- 
complished. 

"  Yet  this  is  the  one  dream  of  the  sacrilegious 
Beni-Berath,  the  advent  of  a  Masonic  Pope,  who 
will  be  anti-Christ,  and  foreshadow  the  End." 

Oppressed  with  the  crowding  thoughts  that 
seemed  to  be  the  summing  up  of  a  lifetime,  the 
Admiral  repaired  to  the  anteroom  to  divest 
himself  forever  of  the  senseless  toggery  he 
had  so  long  accepted,  and  at  first  cherished  as 


CREEDS    AND    THEIR    OUTCOME.  321 

expressive  of  idealisms,  that  were  now  rudely 
shattered. 

"  Meaningless  or  worse,"  he  groaned,  as  he  laid 
each  symbolical  garment  aside,  one  by  one,  "for  if 
these  have  a  meaning,  it  ends  in  subservience  to 
Judaism.  Why  else  this  endless  rebuilding  of 
Solomon's  Temple  ? 

"Types  and  realities  are  alike  a  disappointment. 
Freedom  forsooth.  It  is  damnable  servitude. 

"  I  will  have  none  of  it  henceforth." 

In  the  Cabinet  which  the  Admiral  entered,  he 
had  at  times  made  use  of  a  sliding  panel,  that 
formed  a  concealed  door  which  by  a  narrow  spiral 
stairway,  led  to  a  winding  passage  and  a  small 
platform  hall ;  from  whence  two  other  tortuous 
flights  of  steps  diverged,  the  one,  conducting  to 
the  underground  council  chamber  of  Beni-Berath, 
and  the  other,  he  shuddered  as  he  recalled  the 
fact,  terminating  in  a  narrow  landing  covered  by 
a  trapdoor  over  an  open-mouthed  moat,  having 
for  its  sole  outlet,  the  deep  waters  and  rapid  cur- 
rent of  the  Tiber. 

Noticing  this  panel  slightly  displaced,  he  at 
once  conjectured  that  the  Beni-Be'rath  must  have 
ascended  from  the  Cabinet  below  with  Elsa,  pre- 
21 


322  THE  SECRET  DIRECTORY. 

ceding  their  appearance  at  the  mock  ceremony  he 
had  witnessed. 

Suddenly,  the  door  from  the  Lodge  opened,  and 
Elsa  glided  in.  The  scintillant  eyes  and  waving 
movement  again  conveyed  to  his  senses  the  re- 
semblance to  the  serpent's  undulations;  and  as 
always,  he  avoided  the  charm  of  her  fixed  mag- 
netic gaze,  for  he  knew  and  dreaded  their  power. 

Seizing  his  hand,  she  exclaimed,  "  I  slipped 
away  from  the  old  demon,  when  he  was  sur- 
rounded by  a  cringing  crowd  of  idiots.  Hide  me 
somewhere  for  I  must  talk  with  you." 

The  Admiral  unconsciously  drew  back  the 
sliding  panel,  and  taking  up  a  dark  lantern  kept 
always  trimmed  and  burning,  they  descended  the 
stairway  to  the  first  platform. 

There  as  they  paused,  she  sinking  at  his  feet 
implored  him,  "  Let  us  fly.  I  love  you,  only  you." 

Stooping  to  raise  her,  he  replied  with  gentle 
expostulation,  "The  bride  of  an  hour!" 

"Bride,"  she  cried.  "What  is  a  marriage  with 
Divorce  but  a  rope  of  sand.  It  is  naught.  I  en- 
dured the  mockery  of  the  ceremony  but  for  you." 

"For  me?"  he  repeated  in  amazement. 

"  Our    moments   are    too  fleeting  for   explana- 


CREEDS   AND   THEIR   OUTCOME.  323 

tion,"  she  rejoined.  "Your  crazy  visit  to  the 
Pope  has  made  you  a  suspect.  The  old  Jew  has 
persecuted  me  with  his  proffers,  and  I  have 
wormed  secrets  upon  secrets  out  of  him. 

"  You  think  you  are  of  the  Secret  Directory, 
but  you  are  nothing  but  an  arm  used  to  strike, 
when  this  arch-devil  and  that  other  one,  Mazzini, 
plan. 

"  You  acted  like  a  madman  when  you  got  the 
Pope's  blessing.  Think  you  to  be  forgiven  ? 

"  The  old  assassin  gave  me  this  poniard  for  the 
Monk,  but  he  has  condoned  my  disobedience,  if  I 
give  him  myself;  and  while  beguiling  him,  I  have 
saved  you  for  the  time  being." 

At  this  moment,  the  sliding  panel  was  again 
displaced,  and  he  of  the  Dread  Council  descended 
the  stairway. 

The  Admiral's  first  impulse  was  to  use  his 
superior  strength,  and  kill  him  then  and  there, 
knowing  full  well  that  otherwise  they  were  both 
lost. 

But  Elsa,  as  if  divining  his  thought,  pushing 
him  back  into  a  dark  niche  in  the  wall,  sprang  past 
him  and  began  rapidly  to  descend  the  steps  toward 
the  trapdoor. 


* 

324  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

The  Admiral,  horrified  to  see  her  approaching 
the  fatal  spot,  but  fearing  to  precipitate  a  tragedy 
if  he  pursued,  lost  the  one  instant,  in  which  per- 
haps he  could  have  arrested  her. 

Meantime  Beni-Berath,  for  it  was  he,  seeing 
only  her,  and  blinded  with  rage,  darted  past  the 
platform. 

A  moment  more,  and  the  dark  deed  was  done, 
as  Elsa  pausing  on  the  last  step,  raised  the  glitter- 
ing poniard  given  her  for  murder,  and  plunging 
it  to  the  hilt  in  the  Monster's  heart,  drew  it  forth 
with  a  cry  of  rejoicing  hate. 

Beni-Berath  fell  heavily,  and  plunging  help- 
lessly forward  on  to  the  fatal  trapdoor,  it  opened 
noiselessly,  then  closed  again ;  and  he  in  whose 
wicked  will  a  moment  before,  rested  the  fate  of 
nations,  was  seen  no  more. 

While  she,  holding  aloft  the  reeking  dagger, 
cried  aloud  in  her  exultation  :  "  Now  love  me, 
and  fear  me,  as  Judith ;  for  I  have  killed 
Holofornes." 

The  Admiral  made  no  reply,  but  lifting  her  in 
his  arms  carried  her  to  the  platform  above. 

"  Fly  with  your  race,"  he  urged,  "  to  the  ends  of 
the  Earth,  ere  this  night's  work  can  be  avenged." 


CREEDS   AND   THEIR   OUTCOME.  325 

"  Fly  without  you,"  she  cried,  "  never.  Oh, 
give  me  the  heaven  of  your  love.  I  cannot  live 
without  it,"  and  she  clasped  him  wildly  within  her 
ensanguined  arms. 

Disengaging  himself  with  a  thrill  of  horror, 
without  utterance  of  a  word,  he  fled. 

"Oh,  Gertrude,"  the  murderess  said,  "  Haxa 
has  won.  He  hates  me,  but  the  glory  of  suicide 
awaits  me. 

"Bride  of  death,"  she  cried,  "welcome  the 
grave  ;  "  and  again  the  blood  stained  dagger  did  its 
work,  as  she  fell  pierced  to  the  heart. 

It  was  thought  best  for  the  Cause,  never  to 
make  known  the  disappearance  of  the  Beni- 
Be'rath,  whose  name  as  "  The  Unseen  One  "  in- 
spired all  the  more  terror. 

The  swift  rolling  Tiber  told  no  tales. 

As  to  the  Zingara,  no  questions  were  asked. 
Stripped  of  her  jewels  that  went  to  fill  the  coffers 
of  the  Cause,  her  body  was  consigned  by  ruthless 
hands  to  the  same  eternal  hiding  place,  whither 
she  had  sent  her  murdered  spouse. 

Her  people  mourned  her  loss,  and  to  this  day, 
dolorous  Romany  ditties  are  sung  of  the  fate  of 


326  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

their  Queen,  who  is  some  day  to  reappear  when 
freed  from  Haxa's,  the  Enchantress'  spell. 

But  to  the  world  at  large,  she  was  but  one  more 
nameless  outcast,  missing.  Short  shrift  for  Time, 
but  dolorous  wailing  for  Eternity. 

Embarked  from  Genoa,  the  Monk  and  the 
quondam  Mason  strangely  enough  returned  to- 
gether to  America. 

The  Monk  under  orders  from  his  spiritual 
superiors.  The  whilom  child  of  revolution,  he  of 
the  Secret  Directory,  whose  free  and  Quixotic 
lance  had  been  poised  from  the  dawn  of  early 
manhood,  against  every  windmill  of  fancied  op- 
pression, had  resolved  to  begin  anew  on  a  higher 
plane  the  battle  for  true  progress. 

At  last  the  scales  of  error  had  fallen  from  his 
eyes,  and  he  saw  clearly  that  the  especial  danger 
of  all  modern  phases  of  revolution  was  their  per- 
sistent crusade  against  religion,  and  the  conse- 
quent destruction  from  their  very  foundation,  of 
law,  order,  and  government. 

He  also  understood  that  the  social  forces  arising 
out  of  this  upheaval,  lean  toward  paganism,  with 
their  outright  declaration  of  pantheism.  Their 


CREEDS    AND.  THEIR    OUTCOME.  327 

worship  of  individualism,  their  protean  shapes  of 
materialism,  socialism,  liberalism,  and  agnosticism. 

While  he  admitted  these  upspringing  evils,  he 
realized  the  almost  impossibility  of  combating 
their  prolific  source  in  secret  societies,  because 
their  system  of  attack  arid  defense,  being  un- 
known and  carried  out  behind  a  mask,  one  cannot 
in  the  darkness  surrounding  their  movements,  de- 
tect the  true  from  the  false. 

A  new  light  now  uplifted  his  aspirations. 

During  all  the  past  turbulent  years,  a  feverish 
thirst  of  adventure  had  tormented  him  and  made 
incessant  action  a  necessity.  But  with  the  peace 
that  came  of  the  new  birth,  he  longed  to  be  apart 
from  men,  and  to  seek  the  soothing  solace  of  the 
wild  woods,  where  the  voices  of  Nature  waited  to 
illumine  his  soul. 

He  was  in  nowise  morbid  or  embittered,  but  in 
the  wonderful  transformation,  a  miracle  of  grace 
had  been  effected.  He  had  grown  humble. 

Virtue  had  taken  root,  and  humility  supplanted 
pride. 

Then  he  remembered  the  beautiful  Blue  Ridge 
with  its  mystic  shading,  its  harmonies  of  outline, 
its  melodies  of  coloring  ;  and  building  for  himself 


328  THE   SECRET   DIRECTORY. 

a  log  hut  in  their  very  deepest  recesses,  he  re- 
newed in  this  nineteenth  century,  the  anchorite's 
self-combat,  and  thenceforth  led  a  hermit's  life. 

Thus  hourly,  he  gained  control  over  his 
body,  his  sensual  conditions  and  materialistic 
views. 

Then  he  grew  into  true  wisdom,  the  arcana  of 
the  universe  gave  him  ravishing  glimpses  of  im- 
mortal joys. 

With  clear  insight  he  sees  himself  as  nothing. 

The  spiritual  world  whose  sublimated  delights 
are  closed  against  the  revolt  of  pride,  opened  to 
his  longing,  purified  lowliness. 

There  are  states  and  conditions  that  approach 
near  to,  and  trend  toward  the  Unseen,  fine  sub- 
stances that  apprehend  the  eternal  archetypes. 

Inasmuch  as  every  immortal  holds  within  his 
essence,  a  resurrection  germ  with  closed  wings  to 
be  unfolded  when  freed  from  the  control  of  the 
senses,  so  may  we  soar  while  still  in  the  body,  in 
proportion  as  we  purify  the  sentient  frame. 

So  was  it  with  this  Christian  warrior,  who  seek- 
ing the  true,  found  the  inner  heart  of  Nature. 

The  language  of  flowers,  of  birds,  of  all  living 
things  wherever  the  vital  fluid  permeated,  became 


CREEDS    AND   THEIR    OUTCOME.  329 

an  open  book  to  him,  a  never-ending  song  of 
praise  to  God. 

Hitherto,  he  had  only  noted  the  surface  of 
things,  such  as  are  cognizant  to  the  senses  ;  but 
henceforth,  like  Saint  Francis  the  seraphic  man, 
through  an  influx  of  spiritual  light,  he  seemed  to 
have  seized  a  portion  of  the  connecting  link  be- 
tween the  visible  and  the  invisible. 

Then  the  ethereal  became  the  rational. 

Thus  a  tree  when  growing  absorbs  solar  rays,  is 
dense  and  opaque,  but  in  combustion  reproduces 
light. 

His  soul  was  afire  with  the  love  of  God. 

Now  and  then  the  Monk  was  allowed  to  go  and 
minister  spiritual  consolation  to  his  neophyte,  and 
on  these  rare  occasions  he  noticed  with  increasing 
satisfaction  the  spiritualization  and  growth  of  his 
soul. 

At  rare  intervals  Grace  and  Miles  Standish 
communicated  with  the  hermit  through  his  friend 
the  Monk. 

Nor  did  they  cease  to  love  him,  although  they 
never  met. 

At  last,  the  Monk  having  been  sent  to  a  remote 
mission,  there  came  an  interval  of  silence  that 


330  THE   SECRET    DIRECTORY. 

grew  longer  and  longer,  until  unable  to  endure 
the  anxious  uncertainty,  the  friends  to  whom  he 
was  so  dear,  sought  to  find  the  spot  consecrated 
by  his  holy  life. 

The  monk  had  attended  his  last  hours,  winged 
his  flight  heavenward  through  the  fortifying  grace 
of  the  Sacraments,  and  had  placed  over  the  lichen- 
covered  grave,  in  form  of  cross,  two  moss-covered 
saplings,  and  upon  a  simple  stone  tablet  at  his 
head,  an  inscription. 

Grace  and  Miles  stood  beside  the  forest  mound, 
where  a  trailing  arbutus  perfumed  the  air  with 
bloom.  They  read  with  dimmed  eyes  the  Monk's 
tribute,  and  Grace  kneeling  to  pluck  a  tender 
flower  sorrowfully  said,  as  she  re-read  the  inscrip- 
tion, 

"  Here  rests  in  blessed  peace,  after  a  stormy 
life,  all  that  was  mortal  of  this  gifted  son  of  the 
royal  race  of  Gustavus  Vasa." 

And  the  carved  lettering  was  : 

"BERNARD  ERRSSON. 
"  Because  he  was  humble  his  soul  pleased  God." 

THE   END. 


OCTlgj 
SEP231 


A     000  036  529     6 


Uni\ 
Si 


